Keanu Reeves: An unguarded guardian angel

During the process of this article about Keanu Reeves, I watched many of his films all over again, after so many years. While watching 'My Own Private Idaho', which is one of my favorite films, I've noticed how different Keanu is now, as I also watched one of his recent movies 'Man of Tai Chi' lately. And it's actually in a very good way, for the better. Even in his younger years, with all the wildness of human youth, and with all his cuteness, his physical beauty, him being easy on the eye; Keanu Reeves was always ahead of his tender age, always wise and mature, very kind to his fans, always very considerate; never spoiled, never pretentious nor snobbish. And when we think about it, for most of us; our younger selves in our pasts are now the strangest, farest people to us. But yes, he did change; for the better. He transformed into this very charming, mature, compassionate, refreshing, bold, touching, original, loving, caring, deep, and very modest person. He always had that Zen-like wisdom, and a peaceful, tranquil, stoic quality about him; but the time has only made him better.

It's so hard to tell someone's story without including your own story about that person in it. Especially if that "someone" is your teen-crush, your life-long dream, a huge inspiration on you to be a better human being, an inspiration to overcome painful and similar negative life incidents, someone you admire whole your life. And this is the case for me. It's hard for me to talk about Keanu Reeves without getting emotional.

He came to Los Angeles when he was only 20 years old, and me being a lonely, young expatriate myself in the past, far away from home at around same age, at my late teens; I could related to him, related to how hard it must have been for him; to be away from his home and family, all by himself, and struggling to survive in a whole new world at a very young age. And strangely enough, we both had been through some similar hurting life experiences.

The innocence, purity, integrity and honesty in his face is like a wake up call for all the sleeping compassion in our hearts. Keanu is a deep thinker, and it's so palpable, so perceivable in all his interviews, which are other delightful opportunities to witness and listen to his great sense of humor; whenever I watched an interview of Keanu, I always burst into laughter, and think to myself that he should do comedy. His humor is so witty, so subtle, quick, cool and sophisticated. And another thing that one can immediately notice while watching his interviews is his good manners, his politeness, his humbleness. Besides, it's wonderful to be able to observe the spiritual and intellectual progress of someone you admire, via his interviews throughout the years :)

I can even say; to me, he has always been what Diego Rivera meant to Frida Kahlo. :) For me, Keanu is an intense inspiration to that degree.

Keanu has always been a real gentleman. Not every Hollywood actor use the subway, and offer his seat to a lady in the subway. And he has a heart of gold too; again, we don't often hear other actors share their income with the special effects and costume team, give the stuntmen team Harley Davidson motorcycles each as a present, who Keanu thinks are the unsung heroes of the films. Not to mention he donated most of his earnings to cancers research.

Of course these are the personality qualities every famous and rich person must possess and things they all must do. But they don't, and that what makes Keanu different. In many aspects, he is extraordinary. Very extraordinary; a real "rara avis in terris". A piece of reality where everything is fake, a heartbeat sound in a field of people with shuttered emotions.

And also, he is very warm, very down-to-earth, humorous and friendly during his interviews; it's almost like watching one of your close friends talking. He makes everyone around him feel comfortable and at home.

He's so considerate; during his interviews, instead of only answering, Keanu often asks questions about the interviewer's views and opinions too. He is not one of those self-centered celebrities who only talk about themselves. He cares about others
genuinely.

I was watching a Youtube video of him recently, he was surrounded by his fans, and everyone was asking for his autograph, handing him his pictures for him to sign. And all of a sudden, a lady dropped her pen while she was trying to hand the pen to Keanu for him to sign his autograph for her. Although he seemed to be in a rush to go inside (That was during 2014 Film Independent Spirit Awards in Santa Monica I think), he quickly bend down to pick up the pen from the floor, and handed it to his fan. And during his lunch, he might get up several times when his fans approach him and ask him for an autograph.

Maybe these are little things, little details... but they are what make him loved by so many people. This is one of the many reasons why people love and adore Keanu Reeves; he is warm hearted, caring and kind. He loves his fans and we love him too.
Having said these, these are rare and precious qualities to find in a human being. That's the reason why I believe he was chosen for such deeply philosophical and spiritual films like 'Matrix', 'Little Buddha', 'Constantine', and especially 'Devil's Advocate', for reasons; there's a deeply spiritual side in him. He is almost stoic, which makes him not only a loner, but also a noticably pure, innocent, clean, honest soul. He has an almost a child-like innocence, and a deep honesty.

Keanu Reeves might be the only Hollywood star with almost no haters. People love him; because it's impossible to see even a tiny bit amount of worldly ambitions or anger in him. No hater can find a mirror in his open-hearted smile.

His films were soulful right from the beginning. It's not like he started with cheesy movies and then transformed into this deep actor who plays in great films. 'River's Edge' was a wildly intense movie. 'My Own Private Idaho' was a very touching, very moving, etraordinary art piece. That film has reached and touched so many hearts, refreshed many dead emotions. Watching it, it's so easy to realize how vulnerable, how lonely, how hopelessly unguided and clueless we were at that tender, vulnerable time period of human lifespan. We feel that deep affection, compassion for both Keanu and River in 'My Own Private Idaho'. We feel a connection; we see how fragile, how vulnerable they are, and we can actually relate to that. Because that's how we all were; fragile.

His directional debut 'Man of Tai Chi', which is one of his recent films, is not just another Kung-Fu movie. It's has a Yin-Yang vibe; it's about the eternal conflict of our inner good and bad, the war between our worldly ambitions and the neverending pursuit of wisdom.

I love 'Man of Tai Chi', but my favorite Keanu film? Actually, all of them. I love all of his films. But I think I love 'The Lake House' most. That movie always manages to make me cry, each time I watch it. And yes, I watched it many times. The dancing scene of 'The Lake House' accompanied with the wonderful song of Paul McCartney's 'This Never Happened Before', must be the most romantic and moving scenes ever. And I literally can't remember how many times I watched it in tears.

Keanu Reeves is to Hollywood what J.D.Salinger is to world literature. In a way, the two men are very similar. Both great minds and souls, yet very private people, beautiful loners. Always distant and reserved, away from the mad crowds of the make-believe world.

He is dreamy, and deep. Very deep, so much so that one can easily think he accidentally became a Hollywood star while he was actually about to become a poet or a philosopher. Again, that stoic, altruistic, philosophical Zen quality about him; always radiates unintentionaly from his spirit, from his purity. No matter how simple he is, that dazzling saintlike innocence, and that beautiful honesty shines through. Probably that's why there's something about Keanu Reeves, which makes us hypnotized, and go into a trance while watching his presence on screen.

In a way, Keanu has that pure charm and allure of old Hollywood stars. He evokes and refreshes the raw, the unaffected and untouched bits of our hearts; places we don't even want to remember they exist. To me; he is care, kindness and emotion in human form.

Keanu is the epitome of beauty of mixed marriages :) With him being mixed blooded, and having such peaceful, calming, warm and friendly vibe about him subtly makes Keanu a kind of a natural and an unintentional messenger of peace.

In his films, he absorbes the soul of his charactere so much so that when he talks, we can feel that he actually feels every single word he says. He dives into the spirit of the meanings of words he says. And I think, that has a lot to do with what he's gone through in his life. He's gone through painful life experiences; he lived, he experienced, and it shows in his face, in his eyes, in his genuinesness, in his modesty, in his capacity to understand others, in his generosity, in his ability to empathize with his characteres in his films. When he talks, he doesn't only make you listen to him, he also makes you feel and experience what he talks about. And that's a very unique human quality. That's what makes Keanu so original and etraordinary. He is also very meticulous, very passionate about his art. That's why he is one of the most respected actors.

I don't know whether angels really exist, and even if they do, I have no idea about how they look like, but them being considered all about goodness, love, helpfulness, compassion; Keanu Reeves embodies and has all of these qualities. He is a good natured soul.

Keanu is one of the very few, who didn't exchange anything "For a lead role in a cage".
His place in our hearts is just like the meaning of his beautiful name in Hawaiian language; he is like a refreshing "cool breeze" in our lives.