If I can turn back time

Time travel is such a wonderful thing that doesn't exist in our current technological capability as far as I know. Yet we are so well educated on the concept through movies. Movies make such abstract theory so vivid that we feel we can almost take advantage of it one day.

Of all the time travel movies I watched so many years, I remember Chow Sing Chi's A Chinese odyssey and Donnie Darko the most.

A Chinese odyssey told the story of how Chow Sing Chi discovered his true identity and his true love throught the interactions with other characters during his many trips in time. Donnie Darko found a gap in time that he could took the opportunity to save what he treasured. Ever since Back to the future, time travelling had become less linear. Time travellers in movies are now allow to travel back and forth. The only exception is the Terminator trilogy which terminators could only be transported to the time after the last movie - how boring.

One of the major plot twist in these movies: if characters are allowed to go back to a period of time, can they change their history? Of course, some yes and some no. But at the end I guess it doesn't really matter.

As in Eternal sunlight in a spotless mind, the two ex-lovers got back to the same point even after they had their memories erased. We could not tell if things would end the same the second round, but our personalities and characters defined our behaviors, our tastes. We like what we like. And more than likely, we fall in love with the same person again. And again. Yes, and there is also this thing call fate.

Bill Murray learned about himself through living the same day repeatedly until perfection in Groundhog day. Every once in awhile I imagine how good it would be if I can only turn back time.. The truth is: some of the hard lessons I probably remembered, as for the others I will just do the same like clockwork.