It will make you uncomfortable, it will make you mad, it will make you laugh and make you cry. In the end, you will be amazed at the triumph of the human spirit of a teenage girl who against all odds manage to survive when statistics and society says she should fail.

I recently saw the movie Precious (based on the 1996 book Push by Sapphire). The movie directed by Lee Daniels, who directed Halle Berry in her 2001 Oscar winning role in Monster’s Ball, is a rare movie that unapologetically deals with incest, child abuse and poverty. While the movie is packed with an all star cast (Monique, Mariah Carey, Lenny Kravitz, Sherri Shepherd, Paula Patton), this movie belongs to a 26 year-old Harlem raised Gabourey “Gabby” Sidibe. And the movie's message is clear.

In her first movie, Sidibe plays the role of Clareece “Precious” Jones an overweight, illiterate African-American teen in Harlem with a penchant for numbers. When the movie opens, movie goers learn that through out her short life, Precious, has endured unimaginable, sadistic cruelty at the hands of the ones who should protect her _ her parents.

Left to her own vices, with the help of an alternative school teacher and social worker this teenage mother of two embarks on a path to find her destiny and break out of the vicious cycle of abuse and poverty which has held her captive.

As raw as it is, the movie will restore your hope and belief that what doesn’t kill you will make you strong. It will also reaffirm that we are not islands unto ourselves but are put on earth to help others.

When it comes to movies, I want to be entertained in a realistic sense. I want to leave the theatre and ponder on what I saw. I want to be moved and have an experience. This movie not only moved me but gave me an experience. Of all the lines this movie evoked the one I remember the most which is ever so poignant is “The longest journey begins with a single step.”

See this movie, and you too will have an experience.

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…and if Oscar is to restore its credibility of rewarding true talent and performances I see Oscar written all over Precious. Gabby (best actress), Monique, Mariah and Paula (supporting actress) are all contenders for the nod.