The movie One True Thing seemed a little difficult for us to understand; however, when you looked back, you would find you touched by something in fact. The pure love, exterior from the optimistic mother, and interior from the daughter who seemed from head to toe not like to take care of her cancer-stricken mother at the beginning.
At the end, the daughter Kate Gulden changed bit by bit, no matter you had realized or not, but the father George Gulden seemed stand still who looked his teaching was important than everything. This movie did not have a good ending. After watching it, I felt something was in my stomach, I did not know how to describe it.
At the very beginning, I thought Kate was not a good daughter, at least in the eyes of a traditional Chinese, I felt she not filial. In my opinion, my mother is important than anything, no matter what my future will be! I even felt she did not have a good heart even to her parents. So her father George said one sentence which was chosen in some website as quote that is "Your mother needs you, Ellen! Jesus Christ, you got a Harvard education, but where is your heart? “At that time, I swore I couldn’t be that kinds of person all my life. As children of family, we have responsibility to take of our parents; no matter how hard will be, no matter how much we must pay out. Although at some points I am a very open person, at this, I am a very traditional one. I feel the load on my shoulder all the time. Still remember the first meal made by Kate, horrible! That is not a meal but rubbish, nobody could stand it. I do not know why at that moment her mother did not scold at her. As a girl, how could she do such losing face thing in front of the Women's Group? Nevertheless, as you know, maybe that is the grandness of her mother.
Her mother Ellen is an optimistic person. She kept happy everyday, and did her best to make other happy too. Just as the heroine of Graceful Hands, she devoted herself to the society and her family, never asked for return. Sometimes I felt sympathize at her, her daughter did not pay attention at her, so was her husband, maybe just the Women's Group knew her value. Why can her family members do that! I cannot understand, but maybe that is the culture differences between Eastern and Westerns countries, especially between China and America. In China, a good heart is important than anything, however, in America self-value is the most important thing. Nobody will pay attention at you without getting her own benefit. I cannot stand it! Why can they be so cold! When Ellen told Kate "the story of life", I deeply moved.
Ellen said (more or less, I just can remember the summary) even though you hated your husband, you think you cannot tolerant him any more, and you tell yourself you will leave tomorrow. Nevertheless, the next morning, when you wake up, smelling the smell of coffee, and hearing the happy voice of children. Then you realize that even you cannot tolerant, yet you must know that is your life. Moreover, in my opinion that she had the same idea as the traditional Chinese women which they must endure everything because they are mother. They cannot be selfish. Even though having their tough life with their husband, they prefer tolerant.
I think the clue of this movie is the change of feeling. Mother changed from an optimistic person to whiny person because she had to lean on somebody to continue her life. On contrast, her daughter changed her mind from annoying take care her mother to learning to tolerant the tough life. From this changing, we can see the simple life of all the people, the older goes away after teaching the important lesson to the younger, and the younger learn to adapt their life bit by bit.
We are the younger; we should listen to the older. Though they are not right all the time, yet we cannot miss the chance before they can talk to us and tell us the story of their experience. No matter what, listening carefully and paying more attention to them, you must have some benefit. They need us to listen.
