Do you take delight in watching films, listening to pop music, or reading books? For English learners, movies, songs, and books are one of the most wonderful sources to explore the language! You can indulge in your favorite pastime and still learn some expressions, words of wisdom, and oftentimes good lessons while you’re at it.
#98. Asphalt City (film, 2023)
Set against
the unforgiving streets of New York City, this film follows two FDNY paramedics
whose nightly mission is to save lives. Ollie Cross (played by Ty Sheridan), a
rookie on the night shift, is paired with the battle-hardened veteran paramedic
Gene Rutkovsky (played by Sean Penn). As they race from one life-or-death
emergency to the next, the relentless trauma of the job begins to erode their
mental resilience, forcing both men to confront the limits of their courage,
compassion, and faith in humanity.
(Rutkovsky’s
little daughter said to her dad): “You help people get better."
ð This
scene is one of the film's most touching moments. When Rutkovsky's young
daughter quietly tells her father, "You help people get better.", we get
to reflect on how the tough paramedic’s life really looks like. In a story
filled with relentless emergencies, emotional scars, and growing cynicism, her
simple words offer a rare moment of warmth and hope. The scene briefly reveals
the fragile family life hidden beneath the veteran paramedic's hardened
exterior and reminds us why he continues to face the relentless trauma of the
job, even as it slowly chips away at his spirit.
(Gene
Rutkovsky said): “When the ambulance doors close we're no longer pawns, we're
gods.”
ð With
these words, Rutkovsky explains how a paramedic's role changes the moment the
ambulance doors close. On the streets, they face confusion, violence, and many
things they cannot control on a daily basis. But inside the ambulance, they
must make life-or-death decisions, and every second matters. However, this
quote is not really about power. It shows how years of seeing pain, death, and
suffering have changed Rutkovsky. The heavy emotional burden of the job has
made him lose hope and trust in people. As the story unfolds, his belief that
he can decide who deserves to be saved leads him into dangerous moral
territory.
(Ollie
Cross said): “You start doing this job because you want to help people,
sometimes you just end up doing the complete opposite.”
ð One of the film's central messages is
that people who enter helping professions with kind hearts can slowly change
under constant stress and trauma. Many begin their careers wanting to save
lives and make the world a better place. But years of witnessing pain,
violence, and death, along with working in broken systems, can gradually wear
down their compassion and hope.
As
a result, some workers become emotionally numb or make decisions they never
imagined they would make. Without intending to, they may hurt the very people
they once wanted to help. The film reminds us of a painful irony: a job that is
meant to heal others can slowly wound the healer.
** Jean’s Small Thoughts:
Life does not
always feel like a pleasant picnic or an exciting celebration. For many people,
it is simply about surviving one day at a time. Asphalt City gives us a chance
to look closely at the difficult reality faced by paramedics. From the moment
they wake up until they finally collapse into bed, their lives are devoted to
responding to emergencies and helping people whose lives are suddenly in
danger.
Ironically, the very people who save others are often the ones who quietly need saving themselves. Through Rutkovsky's words, Asphalt City reminds us that witnessing human suffering day after day can slowly wear down even the strongest and most compassionate people. It made me wonder whether anyone can hold on to their humanity while facing so much pain every single day. These paramedics have chosen a path that many would call God's calling, yet they are constantly tested by a world beyond their control outside the ambulance.
The film also
brought back painful memories of my own family. During my father's final days
with COPD, we pleaded with his doctor to do everything possible to ease the
pain that was consuming him. Years later, when my mother fell and broke seven
ribs, the calm and gentle paramedics who carefully lifted her onto the gurney
looked like angels without wings. They were the first to step into a moment
when life and death hung in the balance. They face unimaginable accidents not
as distant observers, but as people who act with courage and compassion to make
a terrible situation a little less tragic.
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