Warm Springs (2005)

“[on his plans to run for office] When I can walk, I’ll run. ” – FDR

Number of Times Seen – 2 (22 Mar 2011 and 2 Nov 2016)

Brief Synopsis – Biographical account of how Franklin Delano Roosevelt got Polio and was determined to overcome this debilitating disease while helping others do the same.

My Take on it – With the whole world being just four days away from finding out who will be the 45th President of the US, I thought it would be an excellent time to rewatch one of the most inspiring tales of one of the men who occupied the Oval Office.

This is a film that I saw a few years back and was extremely moved by the way the story was told.

First of all, I love the fact that we are introduced to FDR as a normal man with his own ambitions in life that are derailed when he unexpectedly contracts polio which causes him to lose the ability to use his legs and not a politician we all know about from the history books.

This gives the story a very emotional side to it because it tells us of one man’s ability to persevere after being afflicted with a disease that would crush most people’s will and with him it inspired him to try and find a way to ease the suffering of others along with himself.

This story proves how FDR was an amazing leader for much of his life and became an inspiration for so many people.

Kenneth Branagh is superb as the former soon-to-be President and Cynthia Nixon was equal as good as his wife Eleanor.

Let’s all hope that the next President will also be someone who we can look to for inspiration instead of the two comical personalities that we see all over the TV.

Bottom Line – Such an inspirational story of how one must try and persevere when trying to overcome some of the most difficulty obstacles possible.  FDR truly was someone that everyone could look up to because of the way that he did things. Branagh is amazing as the former President and Nixon is quite good as his wife Eleanor.  Loved how this story focused on FDR the man and NOT FDR the politician which gives this film even a stronger message.  Highly Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – The swimming pool that Kenneth Branagh and the actors who play the Warm Springs patients swim in is the actual pool that Franklin D. Roosevelt and the real patients swam in, and the water is the same mineral water that was used in the pool. The pool was especially refurbished for the film. (From IMDB)

Rating – Oscar Worthy

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