Mein Leben für dich

This film is one which really makes us sit back and evaluate our lives and our relationships with those we love.

Michael Keaton turns in a superb performance as the career man who is struck down by terminal cancer while his wife is expecting their first child.

The film then charts his efforts to make a video tape, for his unborn child, of his life and then discovers that it is not what it should be. With the help of a spiritual healer (Haing S. Ngor) and his wife (Nicole Kidman) he sets about trying to set things right with his family and his life.

Although the ending at the after life is a little bit dreamy after the reality of the film, this is still a superb piece of movie making with winning performances from all the cast and a wonderful script.

Definitely not a film to relax to of an evening, it is one of those films, like Philadelphia, that should be watched every now and again just to remind us that life is too short for arguments and should be cherished.

This is my first time commenting on a movie, but after reading some reactions to this movie, I needed to say something. A few people have suggested that the movie is contrived or false. This is not so. Six days prior to my 16th birthday, my father died of cancer. He had been diagnosed three years prior and had fought it all the way. I have never seen anything as accurate as "My Life".

No, there is nothing funny about death, but the comedy is true. It was there in my father, and it has been there in others that I have known. The faith healers go nowhere. They rarely do. That is the point.

I have seen this movie only once, and I doubt I will ever have the courage to watch it again. If it were anything but accurate, I don't believe it would have had this effect on me. Keaton performed brilliantly, and the reactions around him were all believable.

That being said, this movie is only made to draw tears, and does so well.

In my personal, yet almost humble opinion, Michael Keaton is the most underrated actor out there. It seems like this man could star in a movie portraying himself and the critics would still claim that he wasn't believable.

The first time I ever saw Michael Keaton was in 'Night Shift' and I thought to myself, "This guy is one of the funniest people on Earth". He put in terrific performances in 'Beetlejuice' and 'Clean & Sober' in 1988, but yet wasn't even nominated for those roles.

MY THEORY: Maybe the judges felt that his portrayal of a recovering alcoholic in 'Clean & Sober' would strike too close to home for many of the recovering alcoholics in the Shrine Auditorium, but that's not my point.

From his portrayal of Bruce Wayne/Batman in 1989 (and again in 1992) to his remarkable bad guy in 'Pacific Heights' in 1990, Keaton has continued to amaze me with the range of acting that he has.

In November 1993, I saw 'My Life' and I could just feel that he was going to win an Academy Award for it.

Come February 1994, the nominations are announced and Keaton isn't even on the list. What the...? I guess cancer wasn't the cool disease that year, since in the end, Tom Hanks won for 'Philadelphia'.

Stepping down from my soapbox: 'My Life' is a great film. It's funny, thought provoking and yes, VERY SAD. I love this show and I hope that you check it out when you get a chance because I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

I lost my father as a very small boy.So small,in fact,that I have no recollection of him whatsoever.This fact is what drew me to view this movie,otherwise it would have been overlooked.My father's death was sudden,so he really had no time to prepare in the way that Michael Keaton's character did here.Bob Jones did what he had to do to make sure his newborn son would not grow up without him,and this is what touched my heart about this movie.Also,the scene where a near death Jones limps to his son's room,up to his crib,touching him gently, and explaining to him that "this whole dying thing wasn't my idea". This one,short moment,was enough to console me through my lifelong sadness of having to grow up without my own dad.His dying wasn't his idea.From a reviewer's standpoint,this perhaps is not a great film, (the ending was unbelievably sappy),but it will always have a special place in my heart for personal reasons.Those of you with fathers, those of you who have lost fathers,and those of you who are fathers should see this movie.

This is one of those movies that comes along sometimes and knocks you to the floor by absolute surprise. Sad to say, this is the most underrated film I have ever seen. This is the one film that can break you down into tears every time you watch it. It has a really touching theme as well. The theme is of course, make it count, and that is exactly what Bob, Michael Keaton, does. I think the most beautiful part of the film is when Bob notifies his wife at the amusement park that it was his due date for death and that he was living on borrowed time. Living on borrowed time from the prayer he made earlier in the film. This film is one of my all time favorites and is a must-see for strong, hard hitting tear jerkers.