Here Review & Analysis
Amount Of Times Watched (in theaters): 2
Written By: Ella Collins
I noticed how Here takes a different approach to storytelling, rather than telling the story of specific living and breathing characters, it tells the story of an inanimate, yet very important object, a house. It takes us on a journey through time to show the life of a house turned home. The lives lived and people loved even when it was nothing but dirt and grass.
This movie is a representation of the struggle of letting go, especially to things that hold a special place in our heart because of the special memories held within them. At the beginning of the movie in almost all of the different generations there is some form of new life shown whether it is pregnancy, children, or nature blooming. There is some form of growth in the form of new life and new love. It also represents connection and how the house got to where it is today because of where we came from, especially by the changing of scenes from one generation to another while there is still a glimpse of the previous one.
The specific focus on the living room throughout the movie is meant to symbolize the movie title, because no matter where you go in life, how far away you are, distance wise or time wise, you will always come back together and end up right back here. This house will always be a place for family to come home to, which is why it is so hard for Richard to let go, because without the house he is worried his family will not come home.
Here also makes a point to show the triumphs as much as the struggles of each generation because life is a series of joy just as much as tragedy but no matter what happens it all happens here and people are gathered here together to deal with whatever good or bad they are faced with. Life is a beautiful struggle, all encased within the walls of a home. It also roots in the message of following your dreams and not putting them off until later in life just as Richard and Margaret both did, we come to find out towards the end. Do not ever let anything hold you back or make you feel trapped, not even the walls of your childhood home or the people within them.
As mentioned earlier, this movie is a wonderful representation of the struggle to let go but I also believe it is just as much a representation of the struggle of holding onto something, especially when it is ready to let you go. The art of connection is utilized to enhance the message of not waiting to pursue what you are most passionate about in life which is why it shows important historical figures such as the Indians, Benjamin Franklin, and even the people who worked to build the house. You can do something amazing and create something beautiful not just for yourself but for others as long as you put in the effort and don't allow yourself to be held back.
​ Towards the end of the movie Richard eventually comes to the realization that he does not need a house for his family to come home. No matter where he is, his family will always come home to him. It ends with Richard and Margaret in the living room of the house one last time while Richard is attempting to get Margaret to remember their family as well as their home and the memories made there after she developed Alzheimer's and was unable to. Margaret is eventually able to remember their daughter as well as their home full of memories in the end. Because when we forget, our home remembers.
