The Razor’s Edge
Humans usually have desires that they can live with all their lives. However, some events may happen that change the course of a person’s life completely. It can be for the better or worse. It also depends on the personality of the people involved. In the film The Razor’s Edge, we are introduced to several characters that have different ambitions in their lives. Though they try to pursue these targets, some of them do not achieve them. From the film, it is advisable to pursue divine love and knowledge through a direct personal relationship with God, instead of clinging to attachments that only offer material comfort that later leads us to regrets.
In the film, Larry is unwilling to give up his attachment to the quest for happiness and an understanding of life. From the film, we can observe how he desperately wants to find out more about life, especially after his experiences during the Great War (It Still BeetzMe). He travels to Paris, and then to the Himalayas in his quest. This observation shows us that Larry pursues Sufism (Wahyudi). He seeks the truth of divine love and knowledge. He wants to have a deeper connection and direct personal experience with God. He does not relent in this quest until he meets his spiritual leader in the Himalayas. The consequence of his action is a better personality. He feels better than before. He shows goodness to all the other characters in the film, including Isabel and her husband, Gray. He even offers to show them the path to Sufism as he wants all of them to experience what he experiences.
Unlike Larry, Isabel is unwilling to let go of her attachment to luxurious living and elite life. She ends her engagement with Larry Darrel because he does not promise her a future of luxury living (It Still BeetzMe). He shows no interest in getting a job that can offer him a lot of money and the elite status that his family is used to. The other characters also have the same desires as Isabel. They are all unwilling to let go of the opulent lifestyle that offers them the fine things in life. It is the reason why they view Larry as a stranger. They do not understand him due to his quest for Sufism. This observation shows us that Isabel and the other characters are too obsessed about status rather than actual happiness, which is the basis of Sufism. She prefers to have material things instead of the peace and enlightenment in Sufism that is achieved through a direct relationship with God and nature. That is why she marries the millionaire, Gray Maturin, even though she is more in love with Larry. The consequence of her actions is that she later regrets this because Larry loses interest in her as he pursues inner peace. She lives an unhappy life because the luxurious experience that she sought over happiness with Larry is cut short by the Great Depression. She gets more desperate than she was before.
To summarize this paper, the film The Razor’s Edge encourages us to pursue divine love and knowledge through a direct personal relationship with God, instead of clinging to attachments that only offer material comfort that later leads us to regrets. Larry pursues Sufism, which is divine love and knowledge that is brought about by a deeper understanding of God. He gains it and enjoys a better quality of life. On the other hand, Isabel, alongside the other characters in the film, pursues luxury living. However, she later regrets this because the money gets finished in the Great Depression.