Based on the 1998 short story "Story of Your Life" by Ted Chiang, not only was it a visionary and thought-provoking sci-fi film, but it truly moved me on an emotional level that I can’t shake. I keep returning to the underlying theme as a guiding principle, and would appreciate any help boiling it down to an elegant (yet grammatically correct) mantra/motto in Latin.
Without spoilers for anyone that hasn’t yet seen it (and what are you waiting FOR?! it’s on Hulu right now, go watch it… I’ll wait The part that always captures my imagination is near the end, when Louise asks Ian:
“If you could see your whole life from start to finish, would you change things?”
To me, this transcends phrases like “carpe diem,” “dum spiro spero,” “Nihil te paeniteat,” or instagram nonsense like “live your best life.” It’s soul searching, motivating, contemplates our mortality, explores free will vs. determinism, and the finite nature of each of our ‘stories’… pressing us to be better, and appreciate more.
So far, the best I can come up with is Frankesteined phrases like “Respice finem… Mutatis Mutandis” or “te fabula narratur, vita mutatur.” Terrible. I’m hoping an expert (and fan of the film) can help me capture this beautiful idea with the most beautiful language.
Thanks in advance. (and again, if you haven’t seen Arrival… You should).
Without spoilers for anyone that hasn’t yet seen it (and what are you waiting FOR?! it’s on Hulu right now, go watch it… I’ll wait The part that always captures my imagination is near the end, when Louise asks Ian:
“If you could see your whole life from start to finish, would you change things?”
To me, this transcends phrases like “carpe diem,” “dum spiro spero,” “Nihil te paeniteat,” or instagram nonsense like “live your best life.” It’s soul searching, motivating, contemplates our mortality, explores free will vs. determinism, and the finite nature of each of our ‘stories’… pressing us to be better, and appreciate more.
So far, the best I can come up with is Frankesteined phrases like “Respice finem… Mutatis Mutandis” or “te fabula narratur, vita mutatur.” Terrible. I’m hoping an expert (and fan of the film) can help me capture this beautiful idea with the most beautiful language.
Thanks in advance. (and again, if you haven’t seen Arrival… You should).