Reencuentro con la vida

"Inside Moves" was marketed in Japan as "San Francisco Monogatari"

which means "San Francisco Story." ("To Kill a Mockingbird" is known

in Japan as "Alabama Monogatari".) "Inside Moves" is another little

movie that when I saw it in a cheap theater in Japan, I thought,

"Great. I am going to enjoy seeing this many times"; only to find

myself waiting for decades for it to resurface. It's a film which

examines the essence of humanity: heart, mind, and body. It's about

finding yourself through helping others; something that in the Thai

language is called, "Nam Jai" which means "water from the heart."

Sometimes we find it and sometimes we lose it. My favorite line is

John Savage's, "You don't have to come around anymore. We don't need

your kind of cripple" to indicate the sorry lot of those who have lost

the joy of giving and the value of camaraderie. But "Inside Moves"

gives it back again.

Let me start out first with a bit of a disclaimer: I am disabled, so I was either going to love this movie or hate it, depending on how real things seemed to me. So my comments have to be seen in that light. Here goes:

This is a very good film, with a good cast, some excellent performances and I love the script. But the thing that impresses me the most about this film is its portrayal of the disabled. They come across as average, normal people-sometimes they're jerks, like most people and sometimes they're nice folks, like most people. There is nothing inherently heroic about being disabled. Conversely, the disabled should not be hermetically sealed off from society for their protection (or yours). All too often, peole make assumptions about people and far too many are made about the disabled. End of sermon.

The other thing I like about this film, although it is admittedly a bit too pat, is the ending of a couple of plot threads. Suffice it to say that Several of the characters get what they deserve, good and bad. I love the poetic justice (or karma, if you prefer) at the end, in the basketball arena. Most recommended.

This is one of my favorites. Read the other comments because they accurately reflect what is great about this movie. With the jarring beginning and all the ugly snapshots of inner city life, this movie makes me want to go back to this believable place that has been created. It makes you believe there is really a place called Max's... a place with diversity and all the complexities of humankind... and that there is hope for mankind! Some of my favorite lines that I repeat constantly (probably wrong): "He'll come back. He just wants to spend some time with his dream." "You've got it backwards. First you get crippled, then you try to commit suicide". Of course... "I'm big, BIG, bigger than you...but that's not hard to be Jerry ... that's not hard to be!" (BTW, does anyone know what Roary (that's how Rory spells it) says after that?... it sounds like "Oh, my hiney" Let me know. My wife and I have played it back 100 times. John Savage has many great lines throughout this. I could never figure out why he didn't win an award. Finally,I think the often-called hokey/corny ending is necessary to bring us back from a hard smack on a Buick. "Hey Roary!"

I happened upon this movie at the video store and had to rent it because it'd been years since I first saw this movie in the early 80's. This was the movie that introduced me to my now all time favorite actor, John Savage. I truly loved him in this movie as Roary, a man who attempts suicide and ends up a cripple. His handicap leads him to meet some amazing people he might never have had if he wasn't. Through them, he learns about true friendship, love and acceptance for who you are. The ending also tugs at you when Roary explains why he tried to kill himself. A person could really relate to his reasoning why and you can feel the emptiness he must have felt. If you are a John Savage fan and haven't seen this one yet, I highly suggest it, if you can still find it in the video stores.

John Savage provides us with another look at his exceptional talent with perhaps his finest performance since The Deerhunter, with a supporting cast including Oscar-nominated Diana Scarwid and another of my favorites, David Morse. A truly feel-good movie, directed by Richard Donner, that explores the depths of human emotion while depicting the sometimes comedic, sometimes heartwrenching stories of characters who are all crippled, either physically, mentally, or morally. It is a great mystery to me why this movie has not been made available on DVD, and if I knew how to achieve its release, I would be relentless in my pursuit of that goal!