Mercury Rising

I watched this movie just recently (two months ago, i think) on cable TV. It's a 1998 thriller feature film, one that came about when i was twelve years old. I'd never heard of it before till this year. Ever since, I've always wanted to highlight this movie on my blog for reasons i will soon uncover, but hadn't remembered to. But now i do, and so here it is.

This is not going to be a typical movie review as i've never really been good at being an objective critic about things. In fact, this might even seem lop-sided to you. Nevertheless, cutting to the chase, I was personally very inspired by "Mercury Rising". It took quite a hefty helping of negative criticisms I've heard, but this is me. I liked the movie. Big Woof.

What inspired me was the plot, really. (Based on Ryne Douglas Pearson's 1996 novel; originally published as Simple Simon.)

(According to Wikipedia) A code called Mercury was created by The National Security Agency so complex that its creators believe no computer on earth can decipher it. Originally created during the Reagan Administration as a test to keep the United States' highest priority secrets under wraps, their assumption is realized to be false when they receive a message from an autistic savant boy named Simon (Miko Hughes) who calls the telephone number found within the code, which was secretly published in a puzzle magazine by two of the creators to see if anyone could break it. Colonel Kudrow (Alec Baldwin) seeks to silence Simon. Kudrow sends a hit man to murder Simon and his family.

After killing the boy's parents, the assassin searches the house, fails to find Simon, and leaves at the sound of approaching sirens. Art Jeffries (Bruce Willis) is an undercover FBI agent who protects Simon. He finds Simon hiding in a cache of his bedroom closet and takes the boy under his wing. Jeffries begins to realize the difficulty of protecting, let alone questioning Simon, because of his impaired social abilities as a result of his autism. The situation is further complicated by the fact that nobody at the FBI believes Simon is in any danger. Meanwhile, Colonel Kudrow, upset by disagreement over how to handle the case, murders one of his employees. The murdered employee's friend turns to Jeffries for help, and together they set a trap in which Kudrow is killed. The film ends with Simon being adopted by a new family.

Can you now guess why it impressed me that much? That's right. The protagonist was a brilliant autistic boy. He did the impossible by deciphering a code, and kept himself the safest way he knew how. He had his address memorized. He remembered and distinguished strangers from friends. He cracked puzzles like they were simple arithmetic.

That's where Phanuel is going.
(Who's Phanuel? Click here.)

No, he doesn't have to be deciphering codes (or anything along those lines) to be going down that direction. If he does, that would be so coo. But more significantly, I want Phanuel to be able to live life in full capacity, utilize his full potential, dream big dreams, and set out to achieve them. His life is going to make a difference. Somehow. 'Cause that's how the Lord intended it to be.

Reality is a little bit more harsh. People make hasty judgements. Their pessimism gets to us more often than not, and we can't help but wonder "what if" and "how". Nevertheless, it is in these times that I am reminded of the time when Phanuel was far worse than he is today.

He could hardly maintain eye contact, couldn't respond to his name, didn't understand the purpose of "the potty", hardly uttered a word, spins around without stopping (even when he felt sick), etc.

As of today, he reads, he does simple arithmetic, he creates powerpoint presentations, surfs his favorite websites, watches videos, tells us what he wants verbally (he started out pointing at things first), he sings and composes his own songs, and expresses himself well. He hasn't quite arrived yet, but look how far he has come! We could hardly have imagined him achieving so much within the span of seven to eight years. And there's so much more in him!

I'm excited to know what God has in store for him. We just can't give up on him now, you know? Every moment is vital. Every lesson may be a stepping stone to the greatness he will become. And i anticipate his arrival with bated breath.

Hope with me. Pray with me.

(Plot and Low Resolution Poster grabbed from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury_Rising)