Ever After

After a strange injury kept me on the couch for the majority of my day and movies were my only option  to distract me from the pain... I found myself lost in one of the most romantic love stories I have ever discovered.

The movie, Ever After, is a realistic version of the story of Cinderella: a plain servant who, with the help of a fairy god mother, falls in love with the prince, and lives happily ever after.

"How on Earth is Cinderella realistic?" you may ask.  Well, my friends... just remove the fairy god mother and substitute her with Leonardo DaVinci-- and you've got a renaissance rendition of the classic fairy tale.

Okay, maybe REALISTIC isn't the word I am looking for.

Anyway, lying here relishing in the romance that is the story of Danielle and Henry, I got to dreaming about real life fairy tales.  You know, the sappy crap you see in movies.  Don't tell me you haven't daydreamed about it yourself.  That scene where the star crossed lovers that have endured twelve different obstacles and completely lost faith in their love finally reconnect in tear jerking fashion.  Yep.  We all want that.  Trouble is.  Fairy tales are just that-- Fairy Tales.

I think that's why I love this movie so much.  No... Leonardo DaVinci is not going to waltz through my door to the rescue and send me on my way to the man of my dreams.  But it's the way the story is told that gives me hope, and keeps my heart beating enthusiastically.

A woman who struggles with who she is, is sound in her convictions, loyal to those that she loves and tolerant of those who treat her poorly finds someone who finally gives her life meaning.  He rescues her from a life that has been cruel, and she in turn, does the same for him.

The story is told from the perspective of the great-great-granddaughter of Cinderella, who ends the film with a line that struck me to the core:

"And while Cinderella and her Prince did live happily ever after, the point, Gentlemen, is that they lived."

What a beautiful statement about love, happiness and life.  There is no such thing as a perfect love story, and there is so much weight to the idea of measuring your life by how you live it.  Love deeply, smile widely, laugh frequently... and you will live well always.

Love True,

Allison