Life Goes Up

2016
7m

YOUR RATING

A variety of characters intersect at an elementary school and ruminate on the joys and pains of growing up.A variety of characters intersect at an elementary school and ruminate on the joys and pains of growing up.A variety of characters intersect at an elementary school and ruminate on the joys and pains of growing up.

See production info at IMDbPro

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

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Drama

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Short

Storyline

Did you know

Trivia
Sofia Embid's debut,

Quotes
Leah: [School bell rings] My childhood was perfect until the first grade. That's when I switched schools and they started making fun of me. But I made friends eventually, then lost them completely. I guess that's how life goes. I love snowboarding, tennis, and traveling. I also love flowers and drawing. And I am in no rush to leave here. I fear the real world and what it might do to me, and I worry that I'm not being the person I'm supposed to be. I hope that someday I can become someone who can do something good. Do you hope that too? Do you want to do good? I hope so,. Sort of. That would be comforting. I get embarrassed when sharing the real me. Maybe one day I'll change.
[Bell rings again and screen cuts to Toby]
Toby: I dream of Lamborghinis and making money in no particular order. I want to be a doctor just like my father. Well, actually he's not a doctor. He's a cat behavior specialist, and he's not really a good one but he tries. But God bless him. I'm afraid of snakes but I carry a water gun, so at least I stay prepare. And don't let my blond hair fool you. I'll swing on poles if I have to. That's what my family taught me. To fight for what I believe in. Did yours teach you that too? I hope so. Sort of. At least if our beliefs are similar. That would be comforting.
Sofia: Wake up, mister!
Toby: Uh oh. Maybe one day I'll change.
[Bell rings again and screen cuts to Suavecita]
Suavecita: My puppy died when I was five and it all went downhill from there. Just kidding. I'm awesome. And I love sports and pizza. And I love Angel, Cole, Tomas, and Balisk. Some might say I'm boy crazy but I just...
[takes a drag on her cigarette]
Suavecita: ... I love to be in love. And I also love smoking. I want to be a geologist when I grow up, and I want a huge family. My family emigrate from Iran and have been close forever. I truly fear losing them because they're the only ones who get me. I wish people would love and accept each other. But I still probably don't like you. But then again you probably don't like me either because you don't really know me. But I don't blame you. How can you ever really know anybody when like in the case of my puppy life's just too damn fleeting? Do you really know anybody? Really? I hope so. Sort of. That would be comforting.
Sofia: Hey, why are you out here?
Suavecita: Haters always hate.
[Drops her cigarette and tries to bury it before running off.]
Suavecita: Maybe one day I'll change.
[the bell rings again as Sofia finds the cigarette and shakes her head as she watches Suavecita running off]
Sofia: In my youth, I figured that when I grew up I would move far away and go on adventures but I ended up staying here for a serious boyfriend and teaching for a steady paycheck. Funny how that happens. Now I drink between classes, read the trashiest novels, and I'm in love with a student's father. And he's married and cares for cats or something but not very effectively I've heard. My job is thankless and some days I'm afraid that I'm actually doing more harm than good. I'm amazed by these kids daily and I just pray the world doesn't break them. My mother was hard to please so I always felt pressure to be worth it. Do you feel it too? I hope so. Sort of. That would be comforting. I'm not stuck in my ways but maybe one day I'll change.
[the bell rings again and Sofia walks out of the bathroom as Isaac's feet touch the floor inside the stall that he's hiding in.]
Isaac: I'm frightened of the spotlight, so I'd make a terrible politician but not as terrible as Donald Trump. I really hope he doesn't become president, and I worry about death, but those two things might be related. But I digress. I fear tight spaces like this one but I fear what's out there more. I just fear really connecting people but I still really want to connect. You know what I mean? I hope so. Sort of. Now, please, could you leave? That would be comforting. Maybe one day I'll change.
[Beth is on her phone calling Isaac]
Beth: My brother won't let me reach him, so we do this every day. I'd never be his age again because at his age I was a punk and it certainly wasn't pretty. I didn't like school because school was test scores, credits, class rings and GPAs. And my friends were always smarter than me. I still wish I had all the answers. I want to take a road trip to broaden my horizons but I start college in the fall at a school I regret choosing and now I wish time would slow down so that I could change directions. I fear one day I'll wake up and my whole life will be behind me. Do you fear that too? I hope so. Sort of. That would be comforting.
[sighs and hangs up her phone when Isaac doesn't answer]
Beth: I really don't have the patience for this. Maybe one day I'll change.
Man: [Watches Beth walk away as the bell rings for a final time] I said the same things once upon a time. That I hoped I would do good and fight for what I believed in. That I wished people would simply love each other and that the world wouldn't break them. That I wanted to connect with others and to slow down before life passed me but then it DID. Because that's what life does. And now I'm here thinking of ending it all. I loved and hated and hoped and feared and dreamed and doubted and tried and failed. And in the end I'm here as we all are.
[picks up the gun in his passenger side seat and points it directly under his chin]
Man: And I ask you... do you think we ever change? Do you think we ever can? Do you think? Do you?
Leah: I do.
Toby: I do.
Suavecita: I do.
Sofia: I do.
Isaac: I do.
Beth: I do.
Man: Thank God! Then there is hope for me too.