Am I a sap, or what? I absolutely cannot watch this movie without crying. There are certain scenes that I am best off watching from the kitchen doorway, where my family cannot witness my teary-eyed-ness.
What is it about Tarzan, anyway?
First, I think it’s the relationship between Tarzan and Kala, his gorilla “mom.” She loves him even though he is not technically hers, even though he is different from the rest of the gorilla family. She’s such a good mom.
Then there’s Phil Collins. I’m just a huge sucker for any song he sings, and that “You’ll Be in My Heart” song just gets me every time. Isn’t that how we moms feel about our own babies? Definitely.
Finally, there’s Tarzan’s romance with Jane. It’s so sweet. I think what’s so special about it is that he has no one to compare her to. Her loves her just because she’s herself—Jane Porter. It doesn’t matter to him what color hair she has or how big her breasts are or whether she’s a party-girl or a bookworm. He accepts her for who she is, just as Kala accepted him for who he was, even while seeing the likenesses and differences between them.
Relationships aren’t like that in the regular world. Think about college, where each person is surrounded by hundreds of others. A guy or girl looking for a mate faces a mind-boggling number of choices. Comparisons are inevitable; it can be very hard to choose.
I guess the reason Tarzan tugs at the heartstrings of a romantic like me is that it’s a beautiful example of the kind of love that is decisive and pure. Don’t we all long to be somebody’s “Jane,” to know there is someone who yearns for us and us alone and who doesn’t even think about the fact that some other woman might be prettier or smarter or a better housekeeper (or whatever)?
Well, anyway. Of course it’s just a movie, and we all know that real life can never be like that. But still, a movie like Tazan pierces that piece of my heart that longs for the perfect love and unity of heaven.
Maybe the reason I cry, then, is simply because I’m homesick—homesick for a place I’ve never been.
Oh, I’m sure that sounds terribly melodramatic. And all I set out to do was make a recommendation for a movie to watch the next time you need a good cry!
