I just finished watching this movie and was pretty impressed with it. I’m not sure whether it will win the Best Picture award in this year’s Oscars, seeing that it is facing stiff competition from Slumdog Millionaire (I haven’t watched this one yet, so no comments about it now). But I will keep my fingers crossed.

Here’s the plot synopsis, taken from imdb.com:

"I was born under unusual circumstances." And so begins ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,’ adapted from the 1921s story by F. Scott Fitzgerald about a man who is born in his eighties and ages backwards: a man, like any of us, who is unable to stop time. We follow his story, set in New Orleans from the end of World War I in 1918 to the 21st century, following his journey that is as unusual as any man’s life can be. Directed by David Fincher and starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett with Taraji P. Henson, Tilda Swinton, Jason Flemyng, Elias Koteas and Julia Ormond, Benjamin Button is a grand tale of a not-so-ordinary man and the people and places he discovers along the way, the loves he finds, the joys of life and the sadness of death, and what lasts beyond time.

Clocking in at 166 minutes, Benjamin Button is long and not an easy picture to watch in one sitting. The reason I like this picture is that it reminds me that we are not permanent visitors on this Earth, and furthermore, time is the one thing that we cannot stop and money can’t buy. So Benjamin Button is in a perplexing situation compared to the rest of us—he suffers the symptoms of old age right at his birth, and then regresses to a child (complete with tantrums and gradually losing the ability to walk) when he finally dies at the end. He certainly isn’t a perfect guy (or gentleman at that) but when he realizes what is happening to him, he resolves to make the best of his living years. And that’s what I believe we should do as we exist with the limited amount of time we have on Earth. Nothing’s perfect—life, the weather, the economy, our spouses, our children, etc. Just don’t sweat the small stuff, and make the most of it.

In case you think this story and movie is far-fetched, may I draw your attention to a genetic disease called Progeria. What is Progeria? Here’s the definition from The Progeria Research Foundation:

Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome ("Progeria", or "HGPS") is a rare, fatal genetic condition characterized by an appearance of accelerated aging in children. Its name is derived from the Greek and means "prematurely old." While there are different forms of Progeria*, the classic type is Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome, which was named after the doctors who first described it in England; in 1886 by Dr. Jonathan Hutchinson and in 1897 by Dr. Hastings Gilford.

HGPS is caused by a mutation in the gene called LMNA (pronounced, lamin – a). The LMNA gene produces the Lamin A protein, which is the structural scaffolding that holds the nucleus of a cell together. Researchers now believe that the defective Lamin A protein makes the nucleus unstable. That cellular instability appears to lead to the process of premature aging in Progeria.

Although they are born looking healthy, children with Progeria begin to display many characteristics of accelerated aging at around 18-24 months of age. Progeria signs include growth failure, loss of body fat and hair, aged-looking skin, stiffness of joints, hip dislocation, generalized atherosclerosis, cardiovascular (heart) disease and stroke. The children have a remarkably similar appearance, despite differing ethnic backgrounds. Children with Progeria die of atherosclerosis (heart disease) at an average age of thirteen years (with a range of about 8 – 21 years).

Unlike Benjamin Button, these kids born with Progeria don’t become younger unfortunately, and their lifespan is very brief.

Let’s be thankful for what God has given us. Live life to the fullest, and be happy…

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