Yesterday, I had the privilege of seeing The Ultimate Gift. This film definitely held my interest. In fact, I thoroughly enjoyed it (Sorry, all of you nit-picking critics. I’m a composer, not a director).

After a long list of orchestrator credits, this film garners another composer credit for Mark McKenzie, doctor of Music Composition from USC. I confess that I was so taken with the storyline, that I didn’t consciously pay attention to the score – however, to me that’s sufficient evidence that the music really complemented the picture, since I’m usually keenly aware of scores that don’t work.

On my way home from the film, I got to thinking (as I have often done) that each driver on the freeway has a life story. More specifically, they each have dreams and struggles. Perhaps that life of anyone could make a good screenplay. I think what most of us enjoy most about the human dramas is that we see things in the characters that we can identify with. I would venture to guess that one of the greatest needs that we all have is to know that we are not alone.

One of the many things I came away from the film with is thinking that I’m probably too often preoccupied with my own dreams and struggles to appreciate and encourage others in their own dreams and struggles. May G-d help me to invest myself in others a bit more often.