Talk:An Imperial Affliction/@comment-99.118.220.230-20150105101800

I don't understand why the wiki says that Peter Van Houten didn't answer Hazel's questions... He did. Not all of her questions, no, but he answered the question about why he ended it so abruptly. I've been trying to find the exact quote, but haven't managed to do so. However, Van Houten basically tells Hazel and Augustus, in my simple terms because I'm plagued by epic memory fails, that life doesn't always allow people to finish their stories or in Anna's case, sentences. He ended so abruptly because Anna's life ended similarly abruptly. He paints a literary picture of the pain of losing a loved one before their time has come using big words and a mean spirit. But I think that his initial "douche pants" speech is the most beautiful quote in the movie (which is full of beautiful quotes) because it's such a slap in the face that you can't help but realize he's right. The tragedy of reality hits your very core and you have to allow yourself to accept that the ending to An Imperial Affliction is the end of his daughter's life. It was a metaphor, like Augustus's cigarette. Van Houten was a dick, but by being a dick, he brought me to terms with the fact that my mother will probably die soon due to her own complications with cancer, surgeries, an radiation. Even though I've had this realization for many years... Van Houten slapped me in the face with it without even being a real person. It's because of his harsh words to Hazel that I can begin to accept that on a deeper level.