Ok, so two nights ago, I went and saw five feet apart (FFA) with my best girlfriend, and as the general consensus has been with everyone Iâve asked, we all bawled our eyes out. However there is so much more to this movie than just how much you cried in it, or did you cry more in it than in the fault in our stars. FFA does so much in a type of film that is generally written off as cliche, and yes, while there are some cliche spots, thatâs not the entire film. Once I finished watching that film, the very first thing I did was give my best friend that I went with, the biggest hug, we sat there for a minute just holding each other. I gave her a hair kiss and we just held each other.
That hair kiss for me was really important, Iâm pansexual, so Iâm generally hesitant to engage in any contact apart from hugs with others, because even though I am an extremely tactile person, who loves physical affection, I know that there are those out there who will think that Iâm taking advantage of those people. So I have to be careful cause you donât always know who those people are. But when we just held each other for that minute, I felt so safe, it didnât become awkward like some hugs that are too long do, it just felt warm.
All this was because of the realisation we both had, about how lucky we are. Lucky, that we can have that hug, that hair kiss, that weâre able to get that close. It is one of those films that will make you realise that there are so many things that we take for granted, that lack of distance when we touch, a casual hug, a shoulder touch. And it carries the message that we shouldnât take those things for granted. I did the exact same thing when I arrived home that night, I just held my mum for a few minutes, in a type of hug that is sometimes a bit weird between a 17 year old and their mum, one that people think you grow out of. Heck, I even gave my brother a hug, because even though we fight soooo much, I canât imagine my life without the touch of those important to me. My mum, my brother, my best friend.
Thereâs also the fact that the plot wasnât just the regular cancer schtick trope, they had Cystic Fibrosis, a genetic disease that so many donât know about, some have barely heard of it. So as a person who has a family member with it, that representation really meant a lot to me. The constant hospital visits my cousin endures, the sheer amount of physical exercise he does to help himself. And heâs come so far. When he was born, he wasnât expected to live past 15. Heâs now 32.
After watching this film, I realised that life is to short to regret some things, hug your friends, your family, donât be afraid to initiate that contact. Because some canât even have any contact at all. So all in all this movie did a lot to me, I realised how sometimes, I take for granted, just the smallest things that seem insignificant, but are actually so important. So go watch this film, because it will make you appreciate every touch just a little more.
