The Giver (2014)

Jeff Bridges: The Giver

Photos 

Quotes 

• The Giver : Her name was Rosemary. She was my daughter. I loved her.

  Chief Elder : Precision of language.

  The Giver : [chuckles]  I could not be more precise.

• Jonas : Your instructions said I can lie. Do you lie?

  The Giver : Oh, all the time. Mostly for personal amusement. But I won't lie to you.

  Jonas : How do I know THAT'S not a lie?

  [the Giver chuckles] 

• Jonas : It was like a memory, but Fiona was there.

  The Giver : You had a dream.

  Jonas : A what?

  The Giver : A dream. A combination of reality, fantasy, emotions and what you had for dinner. You've stopped taking your injections, haven't you?

  Jonas : The emotion was so strong. And at the wedding, everyone all together, laughing and dancing, the old with the young, the bride and the groom... There was something there, but different from what we have.

  The Giver : Yes. We don't have that anymore.

  Jonas : What do you mean by "that?"

  The Giver : Well, I'm talking about what you feel for someone else. And the mind can't explain it, and you... you can't make it go away.

  Jonas : What is it?

  The Giver : Love. It's called love.

• The Giver : Memories are not just about the past. They determine our future. You can change things. You can make things better.

• The Giver : We are the only ones who understand it.

  Jonas : Then it's our fault, you and me and all the Receivers, back and back and back and back and back. There has to be a way to show them, to give them the memories so they can understand.

  The Giver : Yes.

  Jonas : Because if you can't feel... what's the point?

  The Giver : But what can you do?

• The Giver : You have the courage. Let me give you the strength.

• The Giver : Just like music, there's something else you can't see with your eyes, something... that lives deep inside you. Something these morning injections take away.

  Jonas : I thought the injections are for our health.

  The Giver : No. They remove something.

  Jonas : What?

  The Giver : Emotions.

  Jonas : You mean like feelings?

  The Giver : Feelings are just fleeting, on the surface, but emotions, they're very deep, primal. They linger. Now, Jonas, you might not understand where you are or what's happening, but don't think about what you're seeing. Listen. Listen to what's calling from inside.

• The Giver : [grabbing hold of him]  There is no way for me to prepare you for what I'm going to do now. You can take comfort in knowing you are completely helpless.

  [sighs] 

  The Giver : If any of this proves too much for you, tell me immediately.

  Jonas : I just have...

  [passes into a trance] 

• The Giver : Everything is connected, everything is a balance. With good there is always bad. The two...

  Jonas : Show me more.

  The Giver : Let's go for a walk.

  [scoots his chair forward for another vision] 

  The Giver : A real one, with your legs.

• The Giver : You see, no one in our Community has any memory of the past. Only me. When the Elders need guidance on matters that are beyond their experience, I provide wisdom. That is now your role, to provide guidance in the present using memories of the past.

• Jonas : I apologize.

  [no reply] 

  Jonas : I apologize?

  The Giver : Don't say that. "I apologize." Don't apologize to me ever again. Not here. We haven't the time. "I apologize." That's an automatic pleasantry. It doesn't mean anything.

  Jonas : I apologize. I'm sorry. I mean...