The Philosophy Of Love----- (500) Days of Summer

(500)Days Of Summer. It is a great movie. (Charlotte, you were so wrong. I love it much more than the "Julie & Julia".)Personally thinking, this movie forms the basis of my theory of love and certainly, it is a turning point of my explporation of the understanding of LOVE. Yes, LOVE, the word that I have been thinking in the past few days.
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Well, honestly speaking, I don't really understand the film quitely at first. I don't understand why the director highlights Tom's job; his current job as a card writer and his dream of being an architect. Also, what is the point of telling us that love is not a coincidence while the director purposely assert a scene that Tom meets "Autumn"; Tom's ex named "Summer". What is really lacking in Tom and Summer's relationship, which makes Summer even accede to marry a guy met in a coffee shop rather than Tom, a loyal boyfriend who is deeply in loved with her?

Questions keep coming, but answers are not following.
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First of all, please allow me to explain from the career of Tom. Tom is working at a card greeting/making company (I hope this term is correct as i didn't catch it in the show.) Though he is talented in doing this job, writing greeting words on various types of cards including birthday, graduation, etc, his dream job is to be an architect. He likes to sit at a corner of a particular park, watching the "beautiful" scenery there which largely refers to the old orthodox buildings. However, all along the way, he do not believe that he can be a good architect. He cannot even draw out a satisfying draft to show his passion of architecture. This lack of confidence has stopped him to pursue his dream career for the past of his twenty years life. The kind of love for architecture is concealed by his own uncertainty.
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Next, let's talk about the relationship of Tom and Summer. At the beginning of the film, it says," This is not a love story." Then what is it? When Tom first saw Summer, he knew that she's the one in his life. After they are together, or more specifically speaking, after their first kiss or even first night of having sex, Summer told Tom," I'm not looking for something serious here." I understand where this comes from. I mean girls including me who do not want to be controlled simply by a relationship will say something like this. It is not irresponsibility, but just a pre-statement.

However, obviously Tom didn't take these words seriously. As an usual couple, they have experienced a period of happiness and contentment. Then came a day when Summer left Tom. No reason, no sign. That's it. Summer called it a day. Tom was surely sad; deeply sad while Summer just moved on until one day when Tom discovered that Summer was marrying soon.

If Summer is one of those "casual" girls, she wouldn't marry someone. I mean that indeed sounds logical right? Just as what Tom said," If you don't want to be someone's girl, why will you want to be someone's wife?" But Summer's answer is," This time is different. I find something in this relationship which is lacking in ours previously." Something is lacking in Tom and Summer's relationship? It sounds ridiculous with regard to their seemingly perfect relationship. So what exactly is that?
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After many hours of thinking, here comes my answer -- FAITH. Not only is this the gist of the film, but the philosophy of love as well, I think.

Tom lacked faith in his talents and passion of being an architect, so he did not succeed in his career.

Summer lacked faith in her relationship with Tom, so she left him eventually.

Tom believed that Summer was the girl in his life, so he did not feel any uncertainty in their relationship.

Summer finally found faith in her marriage, so she got married.
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Ironically, after 500 days, Tom becomes a guy who is "casual" in certain sense while Summer becomes a woman who believes in love.

Love itself does not have any literal meaning but just a combination of the four alphabets; L-O-V-E.

There is no fixed definition of LOVE, it all depends on how you interpret it.

If you want to have a successful relationship or at least a happy moment of love, first of all, you need to have faith in what you are doing. Certainly, this applys to everything else as well.

22nd OCT 2009
23.36pm
Bian is so enlightened right now.