I watched the movie Scent of a Woman more than a decade ago when I was still in China. This weekend, I got the opportunity to watch it again, again, and again.

Now it is after midnight, and I need to go to work tomorrow. I went to bed and attempted to sleep, but I couldn’t. My mind was stimulated and I wanted to write. So here I am, in front of the computer, typing these words.

If you have seen this movie before, you won’t forget Lt. Colonel Frank Slade’s speech at the end of the movie. If you have never seen this movie, I have included the story line, a movie review, and Slade’s full speech at the end of this article.

Call me idealism, or being na飗e. At an age when typical people might be experiencing so-called “mid-age crisis”, movies like Scent of a Woman can still sweep me off my feet. I still feel my blood boiling and my soul soaring.

I replayed Colonel’s speech countless times and the following words kept pounding my heart:

“I'm here to tell you, this boy's soul is intact. It's non-negotiable… I have seen boys like these, younger than these, their arms torn out, their legs ripped off. But there is nothin' like the sight of an amputated spirit. There is no prosthetic for that. …

I can tell you this: he won't sell anybody out to buy his future! And that, my friends, is called integrity. That's called courage. Now that's the stuff leaders should be made of.

Now I have come to the crossroads in my life. I always knew what the right path was. Without exception, I knew, but I never took it. You know why?

It was too damn hard!

Now here's Charlie. He's come to the crossroads. He has chosen a path. It's the right path. It's a path made of principle that leads to character…”

Integrity and courage, do I have them? I think I do. But how much do I have? Do I have enough? Do I have enough to lead myself to the right path, and carry on in the damn hard path? Is my spirit still a whole piece or amputated?

I don’t always know the right path. Sometime, you just can’t see through and you have to make a choice/bet. However, there were plenty of times when I did know what the right path was. I won’t say I have never taken the right path because it was not the true and it won’t be fair to myself. But can I say I have always taken the right path? I am afraid not.

I fully understand the pressure that Charlie was under because I kind of experienced similar pressure before. I was also threatened that I might be expelled from the college if I didn’t cooperate with the school. I couldn’t stand the pressure and finally gave in. I withdrew from the mission that I believed in then. Fortunately, I was not forced to sell anyone out. Life has been merciful to me. I might have made a smart move then, of the people who carried on the mission, one of them was arrested and expelled a few months later, and another one committed suicide a couple years later.

Yes, I might have made the right decision then. But I can’t help asking myself: do I have enough courage in my spirit? How much courage is brave, but not bold? How tough is tough, but not stubborn?

Conscience and principles, most people have them, to a certain degree. But it takes integrity and courage to carry on conscience and principles.

How far can you go?

Today, I have come to another crossroads in my life. Oh, trust me, there are plenty of crossroads in our lives. I believe I have taken the right path this time. And sure as hell, it is not an easy path.

How far can I go this time?

We will see.

Appendix:

1. Plot Summary
Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
The film revolves around Charlie Simms (Chris O'Donnell), a student at a private preparatory school, who comes from a poor family. To earn the money for his flight home for Christmas, Charlie takes a job over Thanksgiving looking after retired U.S. Army officer Lieutenant Colonel Frank Slade (Al Pacino), who is now blind. Slade decides to visit New York City and enlists the help of Charlie Simms to lead him on the trip. Whilst Charlie is leading Lieutenant Colonel Frank Slade through New York, he is facing a very big problem at school. Fellow students have played a prank on the school principal, and only Charlie and George Willis Jr. (Philip Seymour Hoffman) know the identity of the culprits. After threatening both students with expulsion, Headmaster asks Willis to exit the office. At this moment, the Headmaster tries to bribe Charlie by assuring him admission to Harvard if he names those who committed the prank.

Slade takes Charlie around New York. They stay at the Waldorf-Astoria. After eating at a fancy restaurant with $24.00 hamburgers (the Oak Room), Slade visits his relatives, where Charlie learns how Slade lost his sight. It is at this point in the film that Colonel Slade reveals the real reason for his trip to New York: to eat at an expensive restaurant, stay at an amazing hotel, sleep with a beautiful woman, and then commit suicide. Later, the sly Colonel tangos with a girl, and drives a Ferrari, with a very nervous and worried Charlie tagging along. Charlie is a good person at heart, refusing to rat out his classmates over a prank, taking pity on Colonel Slade, and sticking by his side through thick and thin. Charlie's loyalty is not lost on the Colonel. When Slade tricks Charlie into leaving the room to get a cigar, his sly plan fails when Charlie remembers that Slade was earlier armed with a military Colt .45 pistol (M1911). He comes back to the room to find Slade ready to commit suicide. After a few minutes of talking, yelling, and action, Charlie convinces Slade not to kill himself. It is here that Slade realizes that Charlie is a very brave and tough person at heart, and would not even let a worthless, bitter man take his own life.

Charlie returns to school, knowing that George Willis Jr. is betraying him to get off the hook. The Headmaster holds a courtroom-like meeting, where he questions George Willis, who complains of his poor vision and resorts to his powerful father to help him weasel out of this jam. Unfortunately, it is discovered that Charlie's vision is fine and he received no help from his parents. The Headmaster is on the verge of expelling him, when Colonel Slade, who enters the court during the Headmaster's opening speech on "a Baird man", delivers a magnificent and truthful speech of how "the great ship" of education and obedience is no more than a rat barge teaching rats to betray friends. When Slade says that "If I were the man I was five years ago I'd take a flame thrower to this place," he wins over the students, and the jury. Willis's statement that he saw three people set up the prank, and that they might have been "Havemeyer, Potter, and Jameson," is enough to tell the jury who the culprits were.

The story ends with Charlie being excused from any penalties and expulsions, and Slade going back home. However, no longer bitter, he acts very kindly to his relatives and seems to have a new "look" at life - as does Charlie.

Review:
“Scent of a Woman is about Charles Simms (Chris O'Donnell), a Boston prep school senior, and the Thanksgiving weekend he spends working as the aide and companion of Lt. Colonel Frank Slade (Al Pacino), an embittered, lonely, blind veteran. The job, which begins as an onerous task per????ed principally for money, becomes a tour of self-discovery when Slade decides to make an unexpected visit to New York City. There, amidst all the holiday hoopla, the lieutenant's actions force Charlie into making an emotionally painful - and potentially physically dangerous - decision.

There are certain actors that, when they appear in a film, are almost invariably indicators that the production is of high quality. They are an elite few, with names like Nicholson, Hoffman, Hackman, and Pacino. Considering some of the roles that Al Pacino has played during his celebrated career (in The Godfather trilogy, for example), it would be hyperbole to say that he gives the "per????ance of a lifetime" in Scent of a Woman...or would it? For two hours, he brings Frank Slade to life in a way that few others in Hollywood could. As portrayed by Pacino, there's far more to this man that a rancorous outlook on life and a couple of hearty "hoo-ha"s.

Chris O'Donnell, a fresh-but-not-unknown face, is solid, if somewhat obscured in the more experienced man's shadow. Although the role of Charlie is understated by O'Donnell, he nevertheless manages to fashion a rapport with the audience. This is necessary for the film to succeed, since it's through his eyes that the story unfolds.

In essence, Scent of a Woman is another in a never-ending series of bonding pictures where each person has something unique to offer to the other. If there's anything special about the film, it's that on this occasion, the emotional realism of the characters, especially Slade, is heartwrenchingly believable. His relationship with Charlie works because Pacino won't let it fail.

There are numerous dynamic scenes in Scent of a Woman, along with a surprising amount of comedy. Director/Producer Martin Brest knows how to blend humor with drama to good effect. His mix is nearly flawless, and he manages to do almost (and I emphasize almost) the entire film without resorting to manipulative tricks. Pacino's tango scene with Gabrielle Anwar is one such magical moment - unfettered, unforced, and highly enjoyable.

Unfortunately, considering how sound the bulk of the picture is, the final moments, with their overt pandering to a Hollywood-style ending, are a severe liability. Certainly, such "triumphs" are fun to watch, but they cheapen Scent of a Woman. Would it have cost the production team that much to inject a little realism into the film's last reel?

The movie is as long as its storyline demands. It doesn't seem like two and one-half hours, and less time with these characters would have cheated the audience. Aided by an emotive score from Thomas Newman, the picture has opportunities to soar. Hampered by the ????'s limitations, however, Scent of a Woman falls short of being a masterful production.

(A Film Review by James Berardinelli 1993 http://www.reelviews.net/movies/s/scent_woman.html)

3. Speech:
The school headmaster:
“I'm going to recommend to
the Disciplinary Committee...

that you be expelled.

Mr. Simms, you are
a cover-up artist...
and you are a liar.

Frank: “But not a snitch !
Headmaster: “Excuse me ?”

Frank: “No, I don't think I will.”

Headmaster:- Mr. Slade.
Frank: - This is such a crock of ???? !

Headmaster: Please watch your language, Mr. Slade.
You are in the Baird school,
not a barracks.
Mr. Simms, I will give you one
final opportunity to speak up.

Frank: Mr. Simms doesn't want it.
He doesn't need
to be labeled...
"still worthy of
being a Baird man."

What the hell
is that ?
What is your motto here ?
"Boys, in???? on your
classmates, save your hide;
anything short of that,
we're gonna burn you at the stake" ?
Well, gentlemen,

when the ???? hits the fan,
some guys run...
and some guys stay.

Here's Charlie facin' the fire,
and there's George...
hidin' in
big daddy's pocket.

And what are you doin' ?
You're gonna
reward George...
and destroy Charlie.

Headmaster: -Are you finished, Mr. Slade ?
Frank: -No, I'm just gettin' warmed up.

I don't know who
went to this place.

William Howard Taft,
William Jennings Bryant,
William Tell, whoever.
Their spirit is dead,
if they ever had one.

It's gone.
You're buildin'
a rat ship here,
a vessel for
seagoin' snitches.
And if you think you're
preparin' these minnows for manhood,
you better think again,
because I say you are
killin' the very spirit...
this institution
proclaims it instills.
What a sham.
What kind of a show
are you guys puttin' on here today ?
I mean, the only class
in this act is sittin' next to me.
I'm here to tell you
this boy's soul is intact.
It's non-negotiable.
You know how I know?

Someone here, and I'm not gonna say who,
offered to buy it.
- Only Charlie here wasn't sellin'.
- Sir, you're out of order.
I show you out of order.
You don't know what
out of order is, Mr. Trask.
I'd show you,
but I'm too old,
I'm too tired,
too ????in' blind.
If I were the man I was
five years ago, I'd take...
a flamethrower
to this place !
Out of order ? Who the hell
you think you're talkin' to ?
I've been around,
you know ?
There was a time
I could see.
And I have seen.
Boys like these,
younger than these,
their arms torn out,
their legs ripped off.
But there is nothin'
like the sight...
of an amputated spirit.
There is
no prosthetic for that.
You think you're merely sendin'
this splendid foot soldier...
back home to Oregon with
his tail between his legs,
but I say you are...
????utin' his soul !
And why ?
Because he's not
a Baird man.
Baird men.
You hurt this boy,
you're gonna be Baird bums,
the lot of you.
And, Harry, Jimmy,
Trent, wherever
you are out there,
???? you too !
Stand down, Mr. Slade !
I'm not finished.
As I came in here,
I heard those words:
"cradle of leadership."
Well, when
the bough breaks,
the cradle will fall,
and it has fallen here.

It has fallen.

Makers of men,
creators of leaders.
Be careful what kind of leaders
you're producin' here.

I don't know if Charlie's
silence here today...
is right or wrong;
I'm not a judge or jury.
But I can tell you this:
he won't sell
anybody out...
to buy his future !
And that, my friends,
is called integrity.
That's called courage.
Now that's the stuff
leaders should be made of.
Now I have come to
the crossroads in my life.
I always knew
what the right path was.
Without exception, I knew,
but I never took it.
You know why ?
It was too damn hard.
Now here's Charlie.
He's come to the crossroads.
He has chosen a path.
It's the right path.
It's a path
made of principle...
that leads to character.
Let him continue
on his journey.
You hold this boy's future
in your hands, Committee.
It's a valuable future,
believe me.
Don't destroy it.
Protect it.
Embrace it.
It's gonna make you proud
one day, I promise you.