The movie Everything Must Go seemed like a creative expansion from Why Don’t You Dance?, the short story counterpart to it. While the main character of the short story does not reveal his logic behind letting all of his belongings go, that of the movie - Nick Halsey, portrayed by Will Farrell – has a story. And that story is indeed a very unfortunate one. He did not pay much attention to his family – consisting of only him and his wife, with no children between them – and only cares about the work. At least that, I believe, is what the wife feels. But when he is fired from the work thanks to very unfortunate circumstances, he is forced to return home, only to find all of his belongings lying around in his lawn, and the door of his house locked.
When I had first encountered the title of the movie, however, I did not even think of such a ridiculous yet very possible situation. All I could think of, though, was a Buddhist monk by the name of Beop-jeong, who emphasized the significance of non-possession. And though it was quite clear that the main character of the movie was practicing this, I was unsure whether his is dispossessing himself of things just because he wanted to buy more beer, or he realized the same thing that Beop-jeong found out about life. But it was clear towards to the end of the movie that perhaps Mr. Halsey was becoming more and more acknowledging about this. After watching this movie, and while writing this review, I had the queerest sensation. What am I exactly working towards? Acquiring fame, wealth, and knowledge – perhaps these are the things that I had pursued. But really, perhaps what I should have realized was some kind of quality that was not exactly a “tool” but a quality of its own importance. With this newfound realization, I think that perhaps “everything except such values can go.”
Good thoughts, and nice reflections. That's a good question to take away from the film. I see it as partially a comment on American culture and values. We see all of Nick's stuff, and most of it is unnecessary crap. American culture, in particular, has the highest consumption of needlessness in the world. Walmart fuels it. Our values are based on getting more than we need, and it's never enough. In other countries, especially ones with Buddhism, you don't see a lot of that. Alcoholism also correlates with that theme. What do we really need to be happy? That's just one of many questions we can ask from that story, and it's different with everyone. Good post Mr. Choi.
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