I watched an R-rated movie with my family, and it wasn't fun

*Warning: Spoilers for “The Foreigner*

Last night I watched “The Foreigner” with my family. While the movie was alright at best, I will admit there were times where I almost shed a few tears. But after watching, I realized that Jackie Chan's character Quan and Vladek in Maus had a lot in common.

First off, they both have similar backgrounds; Quan is a retired Vietnam War special forces operator, and Vladek was a part of the Polish Army. But the most significant similarity between them is how they lost nearly all their family because of war. Quan only had his wife and daughters, but his two of his daughters were ripped from his hands (this is where I was sobbing) while Vladek lost Richieu and the majority of his family. The loss of a child, especially two, is unbearable and difficult to move on from.

On the very last page of Maus, Vladek said “I’m tired from talking, Richieu, and it’s enough stories for now.” This signifies of how Vladek never stopped loving and remembering Richieu and was unable to recover from the loss. Similarly, Quan could not deal with his youngest daughter’s death, so he actively seeks out the killers. While Quan was successful in his mission, if the movie would have continued, Quan would realize that the comfort he got from killing the bombers was not going to fill the loss of his daughter.

The loss coming from war can never truly be healed nor understood.