Title: The GiverGenre: Drama, Sci-Fi
Year: 2014
Summary: Following a calamity, referred to as The Ruin, society is reorganized into a series of communities, and all memories of the past are held by one person, the Receiver of Memory. Since the Receiver of Memory is the only individual in the community with the memories from earlier times, he must advise the Chief Elder and the other Elders on the decisions for the community. The Receiver of Memory and his assistant are also the only ones endowed with color vision (removed so as to prevent envious feelings of other individuals).
Jonas is a 16-year-old boy who, like everyone else, is anxious about the career that he will be assigned. His best friends are Asher and Fiona.
On the day of graduation, everyone is assigned a career. Jonas is briefly skipped. He is not assigned a career until the end of the ceremony, when he is told that he will become the next Receiver of Memory and will progressively receive memories from his predecessor, the Giver (Jeff Bridges). Upon assuming his role, Jonas learns of the past of the Giver and his child, Rosemary (Taylor Swift), who had preceded Jonas as Receiver of Memory. She was so distraught from the memories that she committed suicide, which the Community calls "release". Its nature is regarded as mysterious, but Jonas learns that it is death by lethal injection. Jonas begins to teach his findings to Fiona and decides to share the idea of emotions. Fiona, who is unable to comprehend the idea of emotion, is unsure how she feels. Jonas then tells her to stop taking the injection and the next day, he kisses her, an antiquated action that is unknown to the community and which Jonas gained through memory.
Jonas also shares his memories with the baby, Gabriel, who was brought home by his father, to their house. He develops a close relationship with him after discovering that he shares the same mark on his wrist Jonas does, the mark of a potential Receiver of Memory. Jonas decides that everyone should have the memories of the past and eventually, the Giver and Jonas decide that the only way to help the community is to go past the border of what they call "Elsewhere" and beyond the community. That would release the memories back into the community. Jonas sneaks out at curfew and decides to get Gabe at the Nurturing Center, who is to be "released" for his general weakness. Asher, his other longtime friend beside Fiona, tries to stop him before he leaves the neighborhood, but Jonas quickly punches him. Asher lies on the ground, stunned, and Jonas rides his bike to the Giver's dwelling. Jonas tells the Giver, and the Giver, reluctant to let Jonas leave first, lets him leave after giving him memories of courage. He rushes to the Nurturing Center. He tells Fiona of his plan and wants to take her with him, but she refuses and instead helps him retrieve Gabe. Before he leaves, she kisses him then aids in his escape.
Meanwhile, Jonas' mother and Asher go to the Chief Elder to tell them Jonas is missing. Guards are sent to contain Jonas, who they say has become "dangerous," but Jonas gets one of their motorcycles and drives off the cliff near the Giver's dwelling into Elsewhere. Asher is assigned by the Chief Elder to use a drone to find Jonas and "lose" (kill) him, but when he finds Jonas stumbling through the desert, he instead captures Jonas with the drone. After Jonas implores Asher to think that if he ever cared for Jonas and would let him go, Asher sets him free by dropping him into a river. Jonas stumbles onto Elsewhere, and Fiona has been condemned to be "released" for helping him. Just as she is about to be "released" by Jonas' father, the Giver steps in and stalls the Chief Elder with memories of his daughter, Rosemary, trying to call out the Chief Elder but is unsuccessful.
Eventually, Jonas finds a sled, like the one that he rode in a memory from the Giver, and makes his way beyond the border of Elsewhere, releasing memories and color vision back into the community, thus saving Fiona and Jonas' father who realizes what he's doing. Right then, Jonas' mother sheds a single tear as she finally understands the feeling of love. Jonas and Gabe return to the house of his memories, where people are singing Christmas carols, and the voiceover says that back in the community, he swears that he hears music or possibly just an echo.
Jonas is a 16-year-old boy who, like everyone else, is anxious about the career that he will be assigned. His best friends are Asher and Fiona.
On the day of graduation, everyone is assigned a career. Jonas is briefly skipped. He is not assigned a career until the end of the ceremony, when he is told that he will become the next Receiver of Memory and will progressively receive memories from his predecessor, the Giver (Jeff Bridges). Upon assuming his role, Jonas learns of the past of the Giver and his child, Rosemary (Taylor Swift), who had preceded Jonas as Receiver of Memory. She was so distraught from the memories that she committed suicide, which the Community calls "release". Its nature is regarded as mysterious, but Jonas learns that it is death by lethal injection. Jonas begins to teach his findings to Fiona and decides to share the idea of emotions. Fiona, who is unable to comprehend the idea of emotion, is unsure how she feels. Jonas then tells her to stop taking the injection and the next day, he kisses her, an antiquated action that is unknown to the community and which Jonas gained through memory.
Jonas also shares his memories with the baby, Gabriel, who was brought home by his father, to their house. He develops a close relationship with him after discovering that he shares the same mark on his wrist Jonas does, the mark of a potential Receiver of Memory. Jonas decides that everyone should have the memories of the past and eventually, the Giver and Jonas decide that the only way to help the community is to go past the border of what they call "Elsewhere" and beyond the community. That would release the memories back into the community. Jonas sneaks out at curfew and decides to get Gabe at the Nurturing Center, who is to be "released" for his general weakness. Asher, his other longtime friend beside Fiona, tries to stop him before he leaves the neighborhood, but Jonas quickly punches him. Asher lies on the ground, stunned, and Jonas rides his bike to the Giver's dwelling. Jonas tells the Giver, and the Giver, reluctant to let Jonas leave first, lets him leave after giving him memories of courage. He rushes to the Nurturing Center. He tells Fiona of his plan and wants to take her with him, but she refuses and instead helps him retrieve Gabe. Before he leaves, she kisses him then aids in his escape.
Meanwhile, Jonas' mother and Asher go to the Chief Elder to tell them Jonas is missing. Guards are sent to contain Jonas, who they say has become "dangerous," but Jonas gets one of their motorcycles and drives off the cliff near the Giver's dwelling into Elsewhere. Asher is assigned by the Chief Elder to use a drone to find Jonas and "lose" (kill) him, but when he finds Jonas stumbling through the desert, he instead captures Jonas with the drone. After Jonas implores Asher to think that if he ever cared for Jonas and would let him go, Asher sets him free by dropping him into a river. Jonas stumbles onto Elsewhere, and Fiona has been condemned to be "released" for helping him. Just as she is about to be "released" by Jonas' father, the Giver steps in and stalls the Chief Elder with memories of his daughter, Rosemary, trying to call out the Chief Elder but is unsuccessful.
Eventually, Jonas finds a sled, like the one that he rode in a memory from the Giver, and makes his way beyond the border of Elsewhere, releasing memories and color vision back into the community, thus saving Fiona and Jonas' father who realizes what he's doing. Right then, Jonas' mother sheds a single tear as she finally understands the feeling of love. Jonas and Gabe return to the house of his memories, where people are singing Christmas carols, and the voiceover says that back in the community, he swears that he hears music or possibly just an echo.
