I found this movie not only well written, screen-played, played and edited, but I also found it had a true message of goodness in it, which goes beyond the nice story that you might want to dive into from time to time. It is definitely a very rich story. I think it is difficult to separate both notions presented by the movie: morality (is abortion a good or a bad thing, and from which point of view as both are present), and equality between Men, in terms of the racial issue. The movie takes place in the 40's, just before the US declared war to Japan. The work on how Afro-Americans should be treated had not yet really started, and they were still not very much considered as real "equals" to the whites. The "rules" which are part of the movie title in the first place, are imposed on the Afro-Americans who work in the Cider House, assuming they are stupid and unable to behave responsibly and with common sense. It is about the laws imposed on Men by other Men who do not necessarily understand the implications and the situations of those who have to comply with those rules. That leads naturally to the question of the Law : is the Law only a list of rules that we must obey without questioning at any time, or might it sometimes be a more blurry notion that sensible individuals might have to work out for themselves according to the circumstances? Or can we take into account that Life itself , and "chance", sometimes lead to another form of Justice, as it eventually happens at the end? To me, it is a real "must see". I would recommend parents to offer it to their teenagers as a means to let them build their own vision of the world.... Yes! it goes that far!!
Review of The Cider House Rules
