5000 Blankets

I was moved by this film. Strong performances from the leads and great direction throughout made this an inspirational film that has emotional impact. Right from the start I was drawn into the struggles this family faced. 5000 Blankets highlights a big problem that North America now faces in urban centers where affordable housing is in short supply and this has hurt the most vulnerable in society including those who struggle with mental illness. This film takes you on a journey with one family and shows you how they chose to react in a positive way to very negative and challenging circumstances that developed after a family member went missing due to mental illness.

Simply put, 5000 Blankets is the feel-good movie of the year. The film follows the true story of Cyndi Saunders (Anna Camp) and her son Phillip. Cyndi is left to take care of herself and her son when her husband has a mental breakdown and goes missing. However, Cyndi doesn't give up on her husband, and her search to find him leads her and her son to the homeless shelters and communities around Fort Worth, Texas. In the process, Phillip suggests that they get blankets for the homeless. It is a pretty straightforward film, but it has a powerful message. It also does a good job of illustrating how we train ourselves to overlook the homeless and those in need. But they are still people who have just fallen on hard times, and we have a collective responsibility to help them, even if it is just in a small or simple way. Anna Camp is one of my favorite actors, and she is amazing in this film. She really does an amazing job of playing a character who is struggling to do the right thing while still being in an unfortunate situation. I also love how this film humanized the homeless population of Texas. The movie is based on a true story, but there are a couple of times I felt it was dramatizing things a bit, and there were a few times the kid who played Phillip struggled with his lines. But overall, he did an excellent job for a kid, and these are a couple of minor issues I had. Overall, I thought it was a great movie, and I walked out of the theater wanting to make the world a better place. Watch it and think about what you can do to improve your community.

In our busy, chaotic lives, a film like this is needed to remind us of the basic good in humanity, and that no matter the amount of divisive rhetoric that's in the world today, we can all rise above the noise and do good for others. Finding our own purpose in the world is always hinged to service of others...this movie inspires each of us to stop and look around and find ways to make a positive difference in the lives of others.

This movie also gives us hope that in the worst of times and in the midst the hardest of life's challenges, people will come into our lives to help guide us to our purpose if we are only willing to see and hear them. Each of us are never very far away from hard times. It can take one major tragic event, or a series off misfortunes that land us in devastating circumstances and it's in those darkest times that the biggest lessons become available to us. This move reminds us to just see them.

You walk away from seeing this moving knowing that ultimately we are our brother's keeper.