‘Titanic’ still worth watching in theaters 25 years later

CEBU, Philippines —  James Cameron’s iconic blockbuster hit “Titanic” was released in US theaters on December 1997, four months after I was born. My family was able to witness the pop culture phenomena surrounding the movie while I was still too young to remember.

Eventually, I was able to watch the film twice as a kid on television through a VHS tape, although I was too young to understand the story. I did remember my mother had to cover my eyes when Kate Winslet’s character Rose was topless in the iconic nude painting scene with Leonardo DiCarpio’s Jack.

I was a teenager when I watched it for the third instance, this time through the computer with the movie playing from my hard drive. Again, I wasn’t able to fully absorb the plot because I was multi-tasking at that time, dampening my full appreciation.

When “Titanic” was re-released in theaters last February 9, I knew I had to watch it on the big screen. One would ask why I would watch this in a cinema when I can just simply stream it on the internet. Well, there aren’t that many chances where I could watch “Titanic” on the big screen. The re-release, which was scheduled close to Valentine’s Day, was the perfect opportunity to finally watch the classic in its full form with no distractions.

We already know the plot. It’s about an elderly woman named Rose who recalls being a passenger of the ill-fated ship and her romance with a poor man named Jack, which was disapproved by her mother who forces Rose to be engaged to a wealthy man whom she did not love.

“Titanic” is best defined by the tragic romance between Jack and Rose, almost like modern-day Romeo and Juliet. However, my eyes were entirely focused on Rose as she was able to impressively free herself from the patriarchial and elitist standards set against her.

Before meeting Jack, she was miserable being a socialite who is forced to obey her mother’s rules to uphold their high-class standing after her father’s death left them in debt. The things she was proud of, such as being an avid lover of the arts, was immediately frowned upon by her mother, and her fiancé didn’t think of it deeply other than just as a hobby of hers.

There is a reason why Jack is the perfect soulmate for Rose, even if their romance was brief and ended tragically. Jack and Rose think alike, especially when it comes to their appreciation for the arts. Their common interest was a much-needed gateway for Rose to finally come out of her shell and be her own woman on her own terms.

The best part of their romance was how “equal” they felt. There were times when Rose needed saving from Jack, and there were times when Jack needed saving from Rose. Their dynamic felt very balanced, almost like way ahead of its time as most films following “Titanic” had a bias for the man to do the saving all the time while the women were left waiting for their Prince Charming to rescue them.

Of course, no one can forget the scene where Rose was laying atop the debris of the ship while Jack was holding her from the water, both feeling cold to the point they could die from freezing. This scene prompted various debates on the internet that still lasts today on whether there was still enough space for Jack to survive alongside Rose on the debris.

Faulting “Titanic” over that specific scene distracts from its main point. Even if there was space for Jack, he would still be dead anyway due to hypothermia. Rose was on the verge of death, had she not heard the calls from survivors.

Jack’s death was needed for Rose to be able to free herself completely. She found the one who appreciates her for the way she is and she is not going to let his sacrifice die in vain. She is able to go on various adventures after surviving the Titanic, enjoying being an independent woman based on the photos of her escapades seen at the end of the movie.

“Titanic” also brilliantly shifts the film’s two genres flawlessly. The first half focused on the romance between Jack and Rose which was engaging, while the latter half turned into a disaster flick where the horrors of the shipwreck continue to worsen.

There are not a lot of disaster movies that can make their audience cry as they often treat these dying characters as “props” to highlight the devastating effects. “Titanic” is a rare exemption in which you feel bad for the characters who met their fates despite their best attempts to escape them.

For a film that was released 25 years ago, it’s no wonder “Titanic” is easily a modern classic. It’s such a well-told love story and disaster flick that feels one-of-a-kind. In the current state of blockbusters where impressing the viewers with visuals is a priority, it’s refreshing that a movie of this grand scale never forgot that impactful storytelling was the most crucial part. It’s these instances that made a 25-year-old movie like “Titanic” worth watching again on the big screen. Five stars out of five.