BACK COVER SYNOPSIS: "Life is like a box of chocolates... you never know what you're gonna get." Forrest Gump is the movie triumph that became a phenomenon. Tom Hanks gives an astonishing performance as Forrest, an everyman whose simple innocence comes to embody a generation. The winner of six Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director (Robert Zemeckis) and Best Actor (Tom Hanks).

FILM REVIEW: With an endearing, simple-minded character at its heart who has worked his way in to modern popular culture with many memorable lines such as “life is like a box of chocolates… you never know what you’re gonna get”, “Forrest Gump” is a delightful dose of sugar which can inspire anyone who watches it to believe that anything is possible. Filmmaker Robert Zemeckis has created a film that doesn’t really have a plot per se but he utilises the central character Forrest Gump (played to Oscar-winning perfection by Tom Hanks) as a tour guide through American history in the second half of the twentieth century. Although Americans will get the most out of this and is likely to be a very nostalgic take on the past for them, any one can get in to this tale of a simple-minded, dumb, but good-natured and positive man who somehow manages to lead an extremely successful life, making lots of money, meeting famous people, and participating in some very big historical moments. It’s a film with some very solid philosophical points about life and despite its sweetness, contains some very strong themes, ideas and characters that will resonate with a lot of people.

Tom Hanks delivers one of his best performances as the simpleton Forrest Gump. He plays the character with an almost cavalier approach to all the extraordinary things that happen to him; however there’s nothing cavalier about it. All these big things like meeting Presidents, representing the national Table Tennis team in China, serving in Vietnam, becoming a millionaire through the Bubba-Gump Shrimp Corporation, or even being on the All-American football team thanks to his fantastic running ability in college football, they’re just not as important to him as his ‘Momma’ (Sally Field) and childhood sweetheart ‘Jenny’ (Robin Wright Penn). It’s through his character that we get an appreciation for the idea that life isn’t about the glitz, glamour and riches, but it’s about the relationships you have with the people you care about and how you shouldn’t trade away who you are to fit in or to sell out. This theme is delivered strongly through Gump’s trademark black and white simpleness, or as he says a couple of times in the film, “stupid is as stupid does.”

The technical feats accomplished in this film are quite fascinating and extremely well done. Through the use of archival footage and some clever green screen work, Gump is integrated in to images with big historical figures such as Elvis Presley, JFK, Richard Nixon and a host of others without any blemishes or any sense that it’s not seamless. At times you might wonder how realistic it is for a person like Gump to meet all these people but this film works in many ways like a fantasy; but it’s a fantasy that could become real. If Gump can do it, any one can. Zemeckis and his team deserve special credit for what they’ve achieved here and demonstrate successfully how good CGI doesn’t always stand out, but it blends in with everything else to the point where you don’t notice it.

The opening shot best sums up the larger theme of the film which deals with the question, do we have a destiny or are we floating around accidentally like a leaf in the wind? With a leaf descending from the sky, gently brushing over different people and things before resting at the feet of Gump, we get a visual representation of how this whole thing seems to work. Maybe as Gump says, “maybe it’s both working at the same time.” Perhaps one of Gump’s most potent philosophies, even though he doesn’t realise it himself, is that he is open to whichever way the wind decides to take him. This theme is also realised in the character of Lt. Dan (Gary Sinise) who has to come to terms with the fact that the destiny he believed he would always have doesn’t ultimately occur; it’s not until he accepts his lot that he can find true peace and happiness. Although it’s not necessarily a dream for life (Dan wanted to die on the battle field like his forefathers), there is an interesting message here about allowing yourself to be open to other possibilities because you never know where life might take you; it might even be to places you’d never dreamed of and could even be better than you hoped.

“Forrest Gump” is an uplifting film which imparts the notion that anything in life is possible, and despite its nostalgic, sugary execution, is a strong, memorable film.

TECHNICAL REVIEW: The video transfer is for the most part excellent, although there are the odd film scratches here and there, particularly in the the first few seconds. The audio track is also excellent, particularly with the surround in scenes during the Vietnam War and the big storm sequence where Lt Dan challenges God on Gump's shrimping boat. Overall, this is a great transfer.

EXTRAS REVIEW: As befitting an oscar-winning film, the extras package is a good one. On the movie disc there are two excellent audio commentaries; the first is by director Zemeckis and crew. This commentary strikes a nice balance between technical, creative and personal aspects of the film to all those involved. The second is by producer Wendy Finerman who gives her take on the process of bringing this film to the screen. On the second disc there are a number of featurettes; a great making-of documentary (featuring a delightful sequence of how Tom Hanks found the voice for Gump), makeup, sound design, production design, and visual effects. There's also a photo gallery, screen tests and theatrical trailers. The first disc also contains subtitles (English, Croatian, Greek, Hebrew, Portuguese, Slovenian, Spanish) and an additional Spanish language track. This is a great collection and a faithful complement to the main feature.

BOTTOM LINE: Worth having in the collection.