After the Sunset

LINKS
—Overview
—Trailers, Photos
—About this Film pdf file
—Spiritual Connection

After the Sunset was an all-around-fun heist flick with the usual degree of unlikely events. The crinkled brow and “that can’t really happen� frown were offset by the surprisingly well-developed theme -a rare jewel for a heist, con, or action flick. I also had my share of legitimate chuckles throughout the movie. Admittedly, I went into the theater expecting the sequel to the Thomas Crown Affair. Although it came close, this film went beyond the lively banter and tricky technical illusions (which the audience is supposed to swallow in the absence of actual knowledge), and actually dug into a topic which anyone can relate to: the stressful life of a driven “Type A� personality.

From the get-go, Max Burdett (Pierce Brosnan) and Lola Cirillo (Salma Hayek) have a conflict of interest. While attempting to retire, these two lovers/diamond thieves suffer at the hands of their opposing personalities and desires. After eating lobster for the thousandth time in their new “retirement community� (a tropical paradise), Max suffers from perpetual boredom and the insatiable lust for a new challenge. Lola enjoys every moment of decadent living and frequently implores Max to settle down into their new life by writing his vows. A third party, Agent Stanley P. Lloyd (Woody Harrelson), introduces the character-bending challenge when he brings news to Max of the third Napoleon diamond arriving in port aboard a cruise ship. Although Max had not originally intended to steal it, the temptation begins to overshadow his life.

The plot soon develops into a story about the things people chase in life and the lengths to which they will go to obtain those elusive treasures. What are the treasures for these characters? For Max, it’s the challenge of a new conquest. After all, he already has everything money can afford. For Lola, it’s living a simple life, enjoying the subtle pleasures each day has to offer, and watching sunsets on the porch. Stan, whose treasure is to repair his damaged pride at any cost, acknowledges a fundamental difference in the way people perceive life.

Stan divides the world into two halves, those who can enjoy sunsets and those who cannot. The idea is that those who take time to enjoy sunsets find their treasure in living each day to the fullest. They live in a place of contentment no matter what life brings. Sunset-lovers are not driven by financial status, career success, or the new car in the neighbor’s driveway. It is enough to enjoy what they have today. Those who cannot enjoy sunsets, however, spend their lives chasing after the next thing, whatever that happens to be. Whether the next rung of the ladder calls them, boredom drives them, or a challenge awaits them, Type A personalities do not settle for “whatever comes my way.� They go out and seek what they want, pouring their very lives into treasure hunting instead of treasure spending.

This sunset concept opens the door to the bigger question that the movie seems to ask and answer. What treasures have value? Fundamentally, God created all the personality types, differences in people that sometimes cause disagreements but that in the end make this world run smoothly. I have learned to enjoy more “sunsets� in life, but I remain a Type A personality with many goals, desires, and the ever-elusive next challenge ahead. This is not fundamentally a bad thing, but passion spent in the wrong direction offers only empty calories. Unfortunately for driven people, the temporal things in life such as money, success and power cry the loudest for our attention. But, it’s like a good friend of mine recently said, “The lean years were the best times. That was really living. Being rich is kind of like, ‘What do you have for dessert after you’ve already eaten dessert?’� I’ll take that saying to my grave! It reminds me that the real treasures in life are those that cannot be bought or achieved. The real treasures are in developing good relationships, helping others, serving God, and keeping a good attitude by being thankful for everything.

What did Christ have to say? “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven . . . for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also� (Matt.6:19-21). Then he carried out and fulfilled his own commandment. What was Christ’s treasure? Where was his heart? He never lived a wealthy life and in fact, didn’t even have a home once He began his ministry. But still, I like to think He was a Type A personality. Why? Because on this earth, He served the people who hated him, fed the hungry, healed the sick and tormented, taught the leaders, encouraged his disciples, and eventually died to restore the relationship between Himself and every human ever to be born. That takes some kind of grit and determination! Christ passionately pursued the most valuable thing in life– human relationships. The ultimate goal, the most valuable treasure, was the relationship of God to man, that the two would no longer be separated by sin. The beauty of His work and the point of this film is that enjoying life involves recognizing the value of those you spend your life with -before the sunset is gone.

LINKS
—Overview
—Trailers, Photos
—About this Film pdf file
—Spiritual Connections