“it’s hard to stay mad, when there’s so much beauty in the world. Sometimes I feel like I’m seeing it all at once, and it’s too much, my heart fills up like a balloon that’s about to burst… And then I remember to relax, and stop trying to hold on to it, and then it flows through me like rain and I can’t feel anything but gratitude for every single moment of my stupid little life” – Lester Burnham, American Beauty

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Our entire life is a sum of moments of perfect clarity. One must be willing to lose everything. It’s easy to shield ones-self with materials, religion, or excuses and not sacrifice all of it to approach perfection. Perfection is seeing the world as it truly is. To have nothing. To be completely clear. To have no fear or desire. To simply exist and be one with the beautiful and extraordinary.

The ending of American Beauty is anything but sad; Lester Burnham wakes up, realizes he has control over his happiness, and does something about it. He pursues his personal definition of perfection, realizes where his true happiness exists, and finds peace. His reflections on youth tell us a lot about blissful spontaneity, innocent curiosity, and fearlessness. The structure of society forced him to forget those existents of the world and conform to a system with a different set of values. The fact that he became aware and surprised himself is a powerful moment.

Every character in the movie is just as complicated and psychotic. Its a wonderful portrayal of the insecure, alienated, conformist in all of us. We are all walking in the same line, but no one really wants to.