I’m on Day 2 of my Nicolas Sparks movie marathon, leading up to the release of his latest film, The Lucky One on August 28, 2012. Yesterday I watched Message in a Bottle which had an unexpected ending (I never saw it coming!). You can review my review here, http://bit.ly/PDP58q (I shortened the link).
Tonight I watched one of THE MOST SADDEST MOVIES EVER! It’s also by Nicholas Sparks. It’s called A Walk to Remember. Oh my goodness! I CANNOT watch that movie without crying. I’ve seen it several times, including in the theater which is rare for me. Each and every time I see it I cry, even though I know how it ends.
A Walk to Remember stars Mandy Moore, Shane West, Peter Coyote and Daryl Hannah.
Landon Carter (West) is a typical teenage boy. He’s reckless and never thinks about anyone but himself.
One night when he was out with friends a terrible accident happened which left one boy severely injured. When the Police and school found out that Landon was involved they forced him to do things he was not used to doing – helping out others and participating in the school’s play.
One of his classmates, Jamie Sullivan, also volunteers her time to help other students as well as participating in the school plays. Unlike Landon, Jamie is a quiet, studious girl who is often the victim of cruel taunting and jokes by Landon’s “so-called” friends. Jamie is also a very religious girl whose father is a reverend.
At first Landon is cold towards Jamie who sees something in Landon that no one else does. Slowly Jamie is able to break down the walls that Landon has put up around him and in return Landon starts to warm up to Jamie. Soon a friendship develops, and then much more. Landon falls in love with Jamie, even though his friends cannot accept it. Jamie’s father is NOT happy about the situation but he goes along with it because he knows that his daughter is happy.
Jamie has a “Bucket List” that she hopes to complete one day, such as being in two places at the same time and getting a tattoo. With Landon’s help she is able to knock off things from her list. For example, Landon takes Jaimie to the state line where she straddles the state line (being in two states/places at the same time). He also gives her a tattoo, even if it is fake.
There is one thing Landon can’t seem to help her with from her list and that is to witness a miracle.
Jamie does have a dark secret that she has tried hard not to reveal to Landon. Eventually she has no choice but to tell him the truth. She is very sick. Desperate to help her Landon goes to his estranged father for help.
Will Jamie get the help she needs to get well? Will their relationship survive? Will Jamie ever get to witness a miracle? To find out you’ll have to pick up a copy of A Walk to Remember which is available online and at many retail locations.
This is by far one of THE SADDEST MOVIES I have ever seen. The only other movies I can think of that are THAT sad are The Notebook (another Nicholas Sparks film which I will review tomorrow), Terms of Endearment, Kramer vs Kramer and Steel Magnolias. 
!!!!!!!!
This is a beautiful, touching story of young love, redemption and miracles. I love this movie. Even my husband loves this movie, and I’m NOT exaggerating either. It’s really a wonderful movie.
Make sure to have TWO boxes of tissues handy when you watch this movie.
Here is the movie’s trailer. If you are reading this via e-mail you can find the trailer here, http://bit.ly/OxMlKm.
I love the movie’s music soundtrack. We loved it so much that we purchased the soundtrack for the film. My husband rarely buy movie soundtracks. Mandy Moore has a beautiful voice and some of the songs she sings in the film are very touching, most especially the song at the end of the film. “Only Hope” and “Cry” are amazing songs. Seriously, you should check out the soundtrack. On Amazon it has 249 five star reviews and only 5 one star.
Tomorrow I’ll be posting the review for The Notebook, another seriously sad romantic love story with an unexpected tragic ending. Nicholas Sparks sure knows how to tug at the heart strings. I cannot wait to see The Lucky One!
Kimberly
*I received a free screener in order to do this review. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own and are not influenced in any way.
About Kimberly
Despite the sad ending for some reason this movie sticks with me.
I have found that a number of the Nicholas Sparks movies I have seen are on the same venue-some are not so up lifting.
I can sort of relate to this in that I have a sister who had stage 4 Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. My sister was very sick for quite some time and was given a 10% chance of living. She had just experience something that most people have a hard time getting over (her daughter passed two hours after my sister gave birth to her) and then she was pregnant when she found out she had cancer. She could not carry that child either.
There is a happy ending so far. On the 28th of this month will mark my sister’s 11th anniversary of a bone marrow transplant that saved her life. She and her husband rand in a marathon 2 yrs later with her bone marrow donor and they now have a 9 yr old daughter (they adopted her when she was 1).
A Walk To Remember is in my top 5 favorite movies of all times! I LOVE this movie! Mandy Moore as “Jamie” singing the song “Only Hope” during the play is just breathtaking! I play that scene at least 4 or 5 times when I watch the movie. I should buy the soundtrack like you guys did! In my opinion this movie is a 5 star must see movie! Steel Magnolias is also in my top 5 of all time favorite movies! Its a 5 star must see as well!
I’ve seen this movie and yes, two MAYBE even three boxes of tissues are necessary. This especially hits me hard being chronically ill myself. Granted, I’m not DYING, but the principle is there; a guy choosing to be with you and take care of you even if you’re ill…It’s an amazing and scary feeling.