The Soloist (Movie)

I was intrigued by the jacket description of this movie at the local video store the other night. The description says that this movie is based on a true story of a LA Times reporter (Steve Lopez) and a talented homeless street musician (Nathaniel Ayers) who turned out to be a Julliard drop-out. The movie is about how Steve tried to help Nathaniel to "get back on his feet". However, those who are "down and out" like Nathaniel usually have a history that is often hidden from others, and hardly understood by others. As much as we try, in our sincerity, to help others to have a better life, or to become "normal", we are often blindsided by the demons and struggles they wrestle with.

What I like most about the movie is not how much effort Steve undertook to help Nathaniel, nor the remarkable recovery of Nathaniel in the process (in fact, quite the lack of it), but the persistence, the loyalty, the hope that inspire me. It is a triumphant movie about failure. It causes us to question our motives of all our efforts to "help" our neighbors ... is it really what they want, or is it for my accomplishments and me feeling good about myself. In the end, it is all about human relationship, that the "problems" that we see or we think that we have may not be all that important. We don't necessarily need to fix all my problems or my neighbors' problems. What is important is that we all need someone to walk alongside, to be with us, to encourage us as we all make our silly mistakes in life.