I love evenings. It's my favorite time of day. The heat of the day is over. (That's a big deal in the desert.) As the sun slips away, lights start to twinkle awake, cool breezes drift in, and everything gets softer. People relax, too, since the day is mostly done, and along with dinner there is more smiling and quiet laughing. The best evenings, I think, are where one can see these things happen all at once. Where people walk and relax and watch the lights come on.
In THE BOOK OF LIFE we are introduced to the Land of the Remembered. When you die, (and you will) it doesn't hurt and you don't stop existing. You don't go to somewhere strange or alien, either. Nope, you open your eyes in an evening full of lights and music and your family - ALL of your family. They are happy to see you, and you them, with their beauty etched on their bones.
I found it a deeply satisfying idea. Heaven should be evening, all the time.
THE BOOK OF LIFE was satisfying in other ways, as well. There are hundreds of terrible children's movies which teach that it's okay to be you. It's tired and we have heard it a million times. THE BOOK OF LIFE has the same idea except for one difference: it shows how difficult it is to be yourself.
It takes work and courage to truly embrace your passion. After Manolo overcomes that challenge (it is very scary and he is very brave), beating the Bad Guys is no big deal.
(Though the Bad Guys are still really really scary....)
Other wonderful things in THE BOOK OF LIFE is the way the whole movie looks
and how good the music is.
I strongly recommend it.
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