I am on the look out for movies that represent strong marriages. They are in short supply. Falling in love is a plot line we have in spades. That and chase scenes. 

 

I happened on one this week. Penguin Bloom is based on a real family, whose life embodied the fulfillment of their dreams. Sam and Cameron Bloom lived on the Australian coast, spending their days surfing and taking photographs with their three sunkissed boys. They take their family on holiday to Thailand, where Sam leans on a rickety railing and falls, breaking her back. She survives, but is forced to give up mobility, and the expansive freedom she was used to. 

 

I loved that the fulcrum on which her depression pivots is a magpie named Penguin. He, too, is hurt and needs help. Resentfully Sam starts to care for him, and begins to climb slowly out of her own pit. 

 

What touches me is the honest portrayal of a couple who are thrashed by heartbreak. We can witness their pain, which it turns out is not fatal. They slog through the arduous pilgrimage from life as they chose, to life on life's terms. On the way they are tripped up by the all too familiar detour of blaming each other. 

 

My wish is that we all know dozens of these rich stories. Lorenzo's Oil is another, and Searching for Bobby Fisher. Fireproof, The Story of Us, Courageous, Shall We Dance?, It's a Wonderful Life and The Incredibles are more. 

 

With a library of stories about commitment to draw on, we have a better chance of climbing out of our own deep holes.