The Liberty
“Time is a dimension. Somewhere in the universe, a moment that is exactly like this exists.” For me, that is the most memorable quotable quote from The Liberty. It made me feel nostalgic with all the happy memories I had with my dad, and sad ones, too. This movie has touched me in so many ways.
In the film’s introduction, it has shown us a father, named Harry, who is getting old and tired, but still being hopeful and maybe a little too idealistic. He is happy and content to be spending time with his daughter, named Lily, living a simple life as an owner of a theater called, The Liberty.
Their theater has been experiencing losses and it even suffered a fire incident two years ago. So, to be able to bring the theater to its profitable state like back in the days, Harry got a mortgage for it and had been doing his best to rebuild it and launch its reopening. As Harry were making all the necessary preparations, he imagines his younger self and a much younger version of Lily performing live in one of their theater shows. Then, when Harry was setting up the projector, he came across a video of one of his conversations with Lily. He keeps on missing the old days when everything was working out perfectly.
With all her good intentions, Lily went back home to help her father for the theater’s re-opening day. She knows that it is wiser to just sell the place to an investor who wants to renovate the place and change it into a more profitable business such as a retail store. She wants to convince her father that it is the more practical decision but she is afraid that Harry might feel hurt as she can clearly see that Harry’s love and dreams and passion are in taking care of the shows in The Liberty.
As the hour for the theater’s reopening comes closer, Harry discovered that Lily has been keeping a contract to sell with someone who is interested to buy the place. He feels somewhat betrayed that his daughter would do this without consulting him. He accuses Lily of wanting to take away his dreams from him.
I was moved with almost every element of this film. I loved how Lily was always trying to support his father’s dreams and how she always tries to be of help. She even sang in front of the audience when the projector broke in the middle of a show just to keep the few number of audience entertained. It was her love and support for his father that made Harry realize that it is time to rethink and choose the practical decision.
Harry’s idealistic nature might seem too much but it is a reminder for me that it is important to constantly work for your dreams.
I want to commend the characters of Harry and Lily for their awesome performance in this film. They were a perfect fit for their roles. I was so moved with their emotions that I shed some tears by the end of the film.
The story line and the dialogue in the film are so beautiful. The screenplay and the musical score was all amazing and worked well together with the entirety of the film. Overall cinematography is perfect. This film is a lovely work!
