The 15:17 to Paris

Title: The 15:17 to Paris

Category: Based on a true story, Heroism

Parental Guide: Violence

The world is divided into those who believe that each one of us has a mission and purpose to accomplish in life and those who believe that life has no meaning and so you have to give it one. This film unabashedly belongs to the former when its main character talked of being “catapulted” into something higher.

Undergoing the many battles of life, Spencer had to struggle with the direction of his life. He had a dream that turned out be unreachable and he was forced to settle for “less”. Finding comfort in the company of his friends, they toured Europe with tentative plans until fate had them its crosshairs. What he spoke of as a catapulting found him facing a great threat that meant life or death.

The movie reminds us that we are all stories. We are ordinary stories in ordinary lives. Sometimes, however, life surprises us in the midst of our monotony, and challenges us to step up to something bigger than ourselves. We, from time to time, are called to become heroes. The three friends did not expect to find themselves in a dire situation in what could have been a pleasant vacation. Yet, they risked their lives to avert a disaster. Sometimes, it is the ordinary people who are called to be heroes.

Ordinary people have ordinary problems. Like them we search for meaning in life. As children we have dreams for our futures. Life is unfair so it smashes those dreams from time to time. We try our best to recover from the beatings and hold on to a hope that we are meant for something, that our birth has meaning. Those moments can be a drag. We feel blind as we reach out to find a sense of orientation. Such is the mystery of crises and failures.

Episodes of difficulty and struggle shape us to become a better version of who we are. It could happen through the daily grind. It may happen in serendipitously. We can cower in fear and hide in our comfort zones or we can step up and face it head on. Perhaps, life’s purpose is to force us to evolve through struggle. And maybe, we are really meant to become heroes.

What I like about it:

• A great motivational sequence inside the film
• Human portrayal of the protagonists, easy-to-relate characters