Recently I was so lucky to be invited to see the new Movie “Goodbye Christopher Robin” at the iconic Raleigh Studios is Hollywood. The studio uses old Hollywood and just being there is magical. There are film posters of films dating back to the 20´ties. Even with a woman behind the camera. Just thrilling.
In short the film is based on the true story about the creator of “Winnie The Pooh” A.A. Milne. How he created the much loved cartoon and how it helped him recover from PTSD after returning from the 1st Wold War and connecting with his son, who was mainly taken care of by the nanny.
I was deeply touched by the story and it stayed with me.
I was so taken by the way his tragedy (with help from his little son) turned into his biggest success. How it became a world phenomenon and helped heal and slowly bring laughter back after the horror´s of the 1st world war.
His sons life then became a tragedy because of ”Winnie The Pooh” ( the son is the main character). The son then decided to enlist when the 2nd world war broke out to spite his parents. However his healing happend during the war, when he saw how the soldiers had brought the book with them and brought them comfort in these horrendous circumstances. He then understood his fathers work and why he did it. It goes way deeper than that. And its hard to understand the horrors these soldiers must have gone though and still are.
What I took from it, was how life comes full circle. That our life tragedies big or small can enlighten us if we choose so. It shapes us and makes up the ”DNA” we are today. Our ancestors have paved the way with their courage and spirit and are so inspirational. I don´t want in anyway to make war or the sacrifices the soldiers have made into a small thing or compare it to my life journey, because I can´t even fathom their horrendous experiences. But what we can do is learn and keep learning. Movies like this is why I act! Thank you Simon Curtis for bringing such a beautiful film to the screen.
Everything Marie 