Mr. Nobody – How do you make the right choice?

Today I'm going to post a small little ramble about one of my favourite movies of all times, Mr. Nobody! If you feel like watching it, it's available on the U.S. and UK Netflix.

Mr. Nobody touches on choices, time, determinism, the butterfly effect, and the seemingly unlimited paths our lives have the possibility to take. Deep stuff! An 118-year-old Nemo Nobody is the last mortal in a world of immortals. The film takes viewers on a with roller coaster ride with Nemo as he reviews his life, the choices he made, and the other "possible" paths his life could have taken. It's set from three very important junctions in Nemo's life. The choices Nemo makes at these junctions, and their different outcomes are what's explored. It all beautifully leads to an important, sometimes over looked option at the end of the movie. The option to not choose at all!

In the end (SPOILER ALERT) Nemo goes back to when he was 9, and his parents divorced. They were at a train station as his mother was leaving. Nemo was forced to choose between staying with his father or leaving with his mother. Here's the beautiful part: While the rest of the film explores the different paths Nemo's life takes with each choice, the ending shows 9-year-old Nemo choosing to neither stay with his Dad or leave with his mom. This lead to him being with the love of his life, and living happily with her.

We're all faced with different choices everyday. We all are also faced with those times in our lives when major decisions have to be made. This comes in many different forms, but they all carry the same do or die vibe to them. Stay or go? Mr. Nobody also touches on time, and how we can manipulate the future but can't touch the past. That's what makes choices so crazy. You want to make the best choice because we can't go back in time and try something else. Trying to make the right call can put major pressure on a person. Sometimes it can even suck the life out of the very life that someone's trying to make right. It can take the fun out of the adventure.

How do you make the right choice? I don't think any of us truly know. We've all made decisions that seemed right but turned out wrong, and vice versa. At the end of Mr. Nobody, Nemo springs back to life after having taken his last breath, he aforementioned result of Nemo's past self choosing the third option. As he walks through the streets laughing of happiness, there's a sign in the background that reads "WAKE UP". That made me smile. for me, It's a subtle reminder that in the midst of making big decisions, we must remember to LIVE. Sometimes, that could mean not making the choice at all, and just living, and building your life from the present moment! If two choices seem impossible to make, consider the third choice to walk away from both.