As I was finishing my Thanksgiving break I rented the movie October Baby, I have never heard of the movie before but it seemed pretty interesting from the summary of it. The drama filled movie is about this young girl Hannah who is just starting college in the theater department. As Hannah was performing for the first time in college she collapsed on stage and when she is given back all her medical test there is only one explanation. Hannah never knew she had been adopted and was part of a failed abortion, until her "parent's" finally told her after her incident on stage. After finding this information Hannah become angry, curious, and confused. She goes on a journey with her best friend to find out who her real mother is so her questions will be answered and she can find closure. On her journey Hannah faces more heartbreak when she finds out she had a twin brother that had died four months after the two of them were born. Hannah is trying to find her hidden past and hope for her unknown future. Although she faces many struggles throughout the movie Hannah finds the truth about her past, realizes she already has a family that loves her, and learns to appreciate life. Below is the trailer of October Baby.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cBt6t8VV_Q
October Baby is based on a 1991 case in New York City and the story of a girl Gianna Jessen who had survived an abortion. This movie was very sad and different than other movies shown today, even though it also involved a love story amongst two friends. Most people never meet or hear about someone who was a part of a failed abortion and found out this news at a later age. Hannah kept repeating, "My life has been a whole lie" throughout the movie because she never knew that she was adopted. The movie was definitely anti-abortion and promoting pro life with the whole storyline. Even in the trailer of the movie the last few words shown is "choose life" and "every life is beautiful." The directors do believe in pro life and are against the whole idea of abortion.
As an audience this movie was really touching and sad because I have never heard a story about a failed abortion and being adopted by another family. The one scene that really hit me was when Hannah met the nurse that was at the hospital when she was born and had signed her birth certificate. The nurse told Hannah all about her real mother and the struggles she was facing at the time being a single woman and trying to find a job. This was the time when Hannah learned she had a twin brother, plus she found out where her real mother worked. The director uses morbid scenes to show Hannah's struggles and all the heartbroken news she constantly has to face. Whoever watches this movie is bound to cry because its so touching and somber compared to most movies.
Another scene I found interesting was when Hannah went to the church and was thinking over everything that had happened to her in the past few days. The fact that Hannah was in the church showed she was religious and that it is a place to think. The director had specifically sent her to the church to think through her whole life and wonder why it was her that she had to face all these terrible problems. At the end of the movie on the credits there were a few ads that showed which groups of people had contributed and supported this movie. Two particular groups were "Bethany Christian Services" and "Priests for Life."
The end of the movie showed all of the businesses and organizations that helped in producing this movie. Usually after every movie the credits show everyone who was a part of the production and it is also a way to advertise the businesses. Below are the organizations that had contributed to October Baby, many are about families and religion.
I was reading some people's comments about the movie and many people said they really enjoyed the movie because it is something they have never seen before. There were others who said they cried their eyes out during the movie and that they were rally "gripped" by the story. Today there are very few movies that talk about the subject abortion, much less an abortion survivor. This is the reason why many people enjoyed the movie because it was different and the story caught people's attention. I had the same feelings as a lot of these people and at the end I realized this movie was pro life and very religious at the same time.
Throughout the whole movie I was wondering what it would feel like to be Hannah and how would I feel that the people I have been living with for over ten years are not really my parents. Then to find out I was also, part of a failed abortion and that I was not supposed to be alive. Without realizing it I was using the Role Exchange Test Case to put my self in Hannah's position. If I were Hannah I would be very frustrated with my "parent's" not telling me the truth of where I came from and keeping it a secret for over ten years. I would do the same as Hannah and try and find my real mother and find the answer to so many questions, just for closure.
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