Back in 1973, there was this movie which not many people remember now that was famously entitled The Way We Were.
Since I was at the footsteps of a long threshold to adulthood, I didn't fully appreciate the nuances in the story. Now 30 years have past, and much water has past under the bridge, I begin to understand the phrase "the way we were".
Even though, one may tend to overdramatise and simplify The Way We Were, it is by far one of the most memorable feel-good, romantic movies of the Seventies.
Barbra Streisand was at her peak. Robert Redford was the golden boy of Hollywood. Together, they were expected to shake up the emotions of all viewers who went to see them in this movie.
The theme song of the movie won an Oscar for the Best Original Song and the music scored another Oscar. All in all, not a bad outing for Streisand and Redford.
The story is not complicated. Shades of Scott Fitzgerald in The Great Gatsby but not about the decadence of society. The similarity is on the grounds of a great love that didn't last.
Redford is Hubbell Gardner and Streisand plays Katie Morosky. They met, fell in love early in their lives and got married. It was a time when romance was clearly in the air for both young people.
One was a potentially great singer (Streisand) and also a social activist whereas the other was a literary talent (Redford).
As life sometimes is, both sought common ground for marital harmony. But somehows realities get in the way and despite their best efforts, the marriage crumpled.
Hubbell didn't fulfil his literary potential and Katie after giving up her ideals returned to her old passions, politics.
Twenty years later, they bumped into each other in New York. Memories are revived and resurrected. That's when the movie begins. There are flashbacks. The best thing about The Way We Were is the music and the song.
I rather prefer Evergreen to the titled song. According to sources, Streisand wrote the lyrics for Evergreen. She sang it magnificently and clearly, not for once, surpassed herself.
Now, decades later when the refrain of Evergreen touches my ears, I still get that light tingle down my spine. It is that good.
The theme song of the movie tends to jolt one's memory of things past. As I was saying, when the movie and I crossed paths back in 1973, I didn't quite comprehend the entire meaning of the movie title.
Now that I have the wisdom of experiences that made up three decades, the day, as they say, has become rather clear and I can see "almost forever".
Middle-aged people tend to appreciate The Way We Were more than anybody else younger than them. The reason is simple.
When you are in your teenage years, life hasn't really caught up with you. If you are in your mid-twenties, the "engine is just starting to warm up", so you haven't really got into the groove yet.
So, if you will pardon me, youngsters and young adults may find it strange why some "oldies" are raving about The Way We Were. Try seeing this movie 20 years from now.
Perhaps you may begin to understand why The Way We Were touches a part in most of us that will forever remain pristine.
It is that thing called love. It would be great if you fall deeply in love too, and cruel as it may sound, you should "lose the girl" as well. Otherwise, there won't be those poignant memories to clutch at your heart forevermore.
The gist of The Way We Were is about two people who could have had a very happy life together but through circumstances which may or may not within their control, drifted apart.
In this case, Hubbell was the one who had "let it go". He knew it was his fault, 20 years down memory lane. But it was too late.
If you can read it in his eyes, maybe he was telling himself, "in the next life, should I meet her again, I won't make the same mistake." If you believe love is eternal, then hold on to that idea because it will work for you.
Meanwhile, enjoy the movie if you come across it. It's really worth about 2 hours of your leisure time. Director Sdyney Pollack did a good job on this one.
The two main songs of the movie still touch that part of me that I have preserved for decades. When your hair is greying and friends have come and gone, you will find that there are some things that can never grow old or out of fashion.
I am talking about love. Someone once said: "Do not be cynical about love. In times of adversity, it is as perennial as the grass." How true.