by Radhika Dutta

Over Thanksgiving break I found myself with a lot of free time to relax and catch up on new movies. My friends had watched the movie Clouds on Disney Plus and they said “It is such a sad movie and you will definitely cry.” I was interested by this comment so I wanted to see what the movie was about. It is also directed by the guy who plays Rafael Solano in the tv show Jane the Virgin and I love that show and Rafael. He also directed the movie Five Feet Apart which is also really good. Justin Baldoni (the director) was friends with Zach and he made this movie in honor of him because he knew that everyone should hear this touching real story. 

I sat down to watch this movie with a box of tissues and some snacks and I was ready to sob. And I did sob a lot!!

Here is a quick summary of what the movie is about: 

Zack Sobiech was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma (a bone cancer) at age 14. He went through many surgeries and many rounds of chemotherapy. His doctors had told him he had up to a year left to live. Zach was a senior at that point and all his classmates were writing college essays and he didn’t even know if he was going to make it until college. He did not let his cancer stop him though. He started writing music with his best friend, Sammy. Together they sang and played the guitar and made a viral Youtube video. They had no idea they would get so famous.  That video led him to immediate fame, he was getting interview calls and the both of them signed a record deal in New York. Zach is famous for his song called “Clouds”, that he thought of while on an airplane. It is a very good song and it was Billboard’s top 100 at one point. I recommend you all to listen to it. Here is the link. https://youtu.be/sDC97j6lfyc.

Zach also falls in love with this girl named Amy and the movie shows their relationship and how hard it was for Amy to know her boyfriend was terminal. I won’t give away too much but the scene that made me cry the most was one of the last scenes when Zach’s family threw a prom for Zach because he would not be able to go to his own prom. Zach was very sick at this point and he almost was not able to make it but he did and he performed his beautiful song “Clouds.” It was such a remarkable performance. 

This movie was honestly life changing and taught me so many good lessons. My favorite line from the movie is “You don’t need to find out you are dying to start living.” And that is something I want to start living by now. Zach was so young but so wise. I admire his positivity and how hardworking he was even though his life could be taken at any moment. Our lives could also be taken at any point! I definitely take my life for granted. We all should be so grateful for our health. Zach followed his dreams so we should too! If you want to be a singer or actor or youtuber or anything, start now and don’t wait until tomorrow because tomorrow is not always granted. 

Please watch the movie and you will gain a new perspective of life!! 

Here is the movie trailer: https://youtu.be/OWEgUhWU4g4 

This is the real Zach:

This is the actor who did a wonderful job portraying Zach: