Wish Man

Sometimes, a movie experience comes along and the title throws me for a loop. When I heard about Wish Man, I thought it would be a feel-good movie about the Make a Wish Foundation, and the founder. I was pleasantly surprised by the movie experience on many levels. This is a great movie for young adults to view and discuss with parents, teachers, and mentors. The subject matter is diverse and sure to encourage conversations. 

Summary: Wish Man is a movie about an imperfect world through the lens of an imperfect person. Most of the movie is spent on Frank Shankwitz's early childhood experiences and trauma. It is refreshing to see a movie explore how iconic heroes come from traumatic backgrounds. Trauma helps shape the world as we see it. For some like Frank, helping a child overcome a traumatic event helps not only the child, it also is a healing experience for the person providing hope. 

Another theme that shaped Frank's world view was parent alienation. This plays in many children's lives in our country. (Spoiler alert) Frank's abandonment of his father is explained through the lens of parental control and alienation by his mother's actions. It is a very powerful story, that happens all too often in our country. The movie allows young adults to experience some of the truths surrounding parental alienation. The harm caused by alienation is hidden during the early development years, only to be discovered when children become adults. 

All the experiences in this movie lead up to one conclusion. Empathy is taught and molded by life experiences. For Frank, he found comfort in helping children. He wanted to provide experiences that helped them escape the current realities of early childhood trauma. Understanding what shaped Frank's reality might help us understand our own. A very powerful movie.