Several days ago I rented from Apple TV the movie Groundhog Day, yes the movie from 1993 starring Bill Murray. It is a movie about a local weatherman who goes to a small town to cover the Groundhog day, the day when people gather to see a groundhog, a type of squirrel coming out, indicating the advent of Spring. This time however the weatherman gets stuck, not only on that particular place, but also on the same day. Every day he gets up at 6.00 AM at the same place, and he gets to experience the same events that occur that day indefinitely. During the same day, the main character experiences changes from denial, to acceptance, until he transcends to become a new version of himself the next day, or that day. I watched the movie probably because it has been on my movies to watch list for a while now, or probably because it has good reviews, according to RottenTomatoes, or maybe because StudioBinder has mentioned it somewhere, but after watching it, I felt somewhat relatable to the work more than I had thought.
In short, I like and enjoy watching the movie. It is short, less than 2 hours short, at least it feels short when compared to movies nowadays. It is simple, without many twists or branches, but at the same time has almost unlimited possibilities. Bill Murray’s performance and the movie overall is fun to watch, and yet it gives room for the audience to reflect on the movie. Of course it can get boring, as the same events happen many times during the movie, but the expectations of things to change or as we get deeper on the surrounding characters as the main character develops through the progress of the movie makes it all the more appealing. I like it, however, because I can personally relate to the movie.
As the character goes through the same day on and on, he starts to make use of the situation, from finding problems that the supporting, surrounding characters have, and helping them out. Some are simple tasks; some also require a great deal of learning, of which would not be possible in just one day, in reality. Basically the character develops from a self centered type of character to become more of an altruistic type of character. If I had an unlimited amount of time; if I had an unlimited amount of money, or any other resources, what would I do? I probably would do something similar to what the main character does in the movie–I would find something that I want to do, in the pursuit of something greater than myself.
As I reflect on the movie, it has reminded me to appreciate time more. Sometimes when I do not have anything to do, I just waste it by doing things that may not be productive or useful for my future. But then again, being consciously aware of your available time is just as important, because without it, you cannot begin to change anything about it. Sometimes you do not realize you actually have the time, or maybe you realize you need to change things just to get the time you need to do what you really want to do in life. Time is an asset easily forgotten, yet perhaps the most valuable thing each living person can have. Perhaps before you can change anything about yourself, you need to realize there needs to be time for it.