The Notebook (2004)

"They make movies like this?" I asked myself.

No shooting, no crime, no torture and sadism, no fornication, no spooky supernatural beings waiting to be blown up by that very US shotgun - just a magnificent celebration of life, nature of South Carolina and in-depth description of true love.

Surely this movie could not make it in the box office, the sceptic in me said.

The film opened June 25, 2004 in Canada and the United States and grossed $13.5 million in 2,303 theaters its opening weekend, ranking #4 at the box office. The film grossed a total of $115.6 million worldwide, $81 million in Canada and the United States and $34.6 million in other countries.
wikipedia

Well, not bad, not bad at all for a film without a single gunshot or car chase.

Gena Rowlands as older Allie Calhoun 

- talk about ageing with dignity! (link)

James Garner as older Noah Calhoun 

- what depth of emotions shown with minimalist acting! (link)

Rachel McAdams as young Allie Hamilton 

- how was it possible to capture those amazing sparks of intelligence and life 

in her beautiful eyes using just a camera? (poster)

Ryan Gosling as young Noah Calhoun 

- absolutely believable also with minimalist acting! (poster)

What is going on here?
While holding back my tears I got really curious - what is going on here with this Notebook film? This is something quite unusual. Life as it should be - Altzheimer as a terrible fact that nevertheless cannot crush the human spirit or break the bonds of love. True love and the temptations of easy life and money and other deep subjects.

This is good stuff...

Nicholas Sparks
wikimedia

Nicholas Sparks was born on December 31, 1965, in Omaha, Nebraska, to Patrick Michael Sparks, a professor, and Jill Emma Marie (née Thoene) Sparks, a homemaker and an optometrist's assistant. He was the middle of three children, with an older brother Michael Earl "Micah" Sparks (1964–) and a younger sister, Danielle "Dana" Sparks (1966–2000), who died at the age of 33. Sparks has said that she is the inspiration for the main character in his novel A Walk to Remember.

Sparks was raised Roman Catholic and is of German, Czech, English and Irish ancestry. He and his wife are devout Catholics, and are raising their children in the Catholic faith.

"I was raised Catholic, baptized, confirmed, Sunday School, went to Notre Dame, go to confession, go to church weekly," the author says. "My oldest son is an altar boy. All my children go to the Catholic school. My wife Catherine was raised Catholic. We were married in the Catholic Church. God is the most important thing in our lives. I suppose that's true of everybody's lives, whether or not they want to believe it."

In 1992, Sparks began selling pharmaceuticals and in 1993 was transferred to Greenville, SC. It was there that he wrote another novel in his spare time, The Notebook. Two years later, he was discovered by literary agent Theresa Park, who picked The Notebook out of her agency's slush pile, liked it, and offered to represent him.

In October 1995, Park secured a $1 million advance for The Notebook from Time Warner Book Group. The novel was published in October 1996 and made the New York Times best-seller list in its first week of release.

Nine of his books have been adapted to films, including Message in a Bottle, Nights in Rodanthe, Dear John , A Walk to Remember, The Notebook, The Last Song , and most recently The Lucky One.
wikipedia

Nicholas Sparks says that his breakthrough novel The Notebook was inspired by the grandparents of his wife Catherine.

Aha!

Now I think I understand why this movie is so special.

Praise the Lord!