This October, Disney+ released Clouds, a heart-wrenching film based on a true story. The movie follows the story of Zach Sobiech, played by Fin Argus, a teenage songwriter based in Minnesota who was diagnosed with terminal cancer when he was only 17.  

Zach navigates friends, a relationship, family issues, his passion for music, and school all while dealing with osteosarcoma, a rare bone cancer. After finding out his condition is terminal, Zach and his family travel to Lourdes, France to look for a miracle. On the way home in the airplane, Zach begins to write his songs, this time with more vigor and determination than ever before.  

He creates and produces a hit song, “Clouds,” with his best friend Sammy, played by Sabrina Carpenter. The song, along with his debut EP, was Zach Sobiech’s way of saying goodbye to his friends and family, and it touched millions of people’s hearts. He even performed his song at a concert with all his friends and family attending, all of whom were represented well in the movie.  

“I think Clouds was a great heartfelt movie that certainly had me crying by the end,” Faith Ferry (‘21) said. “I think it was a great reminder to never take the future for granted and make every day that we are alive count.”  

Clouds is a movie about living your life as passionately and as cheerfully as you possibly can. It is about making the most of your time, and how unfair it is that some people do not have enough of it. Zach is known for making people laugh, and simply trying to have as best of a time as he can throughout his final months. It is a very inspirational film that was beautifully produced.  

The director Justin Baldoni captured the truly horrific feelings and the range of raw emotions behind a story so heartfelt. The intertwining of scenes of Zach going from happy conversation to being sick in bed are seamlessly threaded together. This way of filming was what took in the audience and really gave a glimpse of the impact Zach’s diagnosis had on his outlook of life. Baldoni directed the project so that the audience truly falls in love with who Zach was, which made the sadness of his story all the more inspirational.  

“There was a part where Zach is in the mirror forcing a smile on his face, and I think that’s when it all really hit me,” Ashley Cox (‘21) said. “The movie showed a great representation of Zach trying to see the positives when all life was throwing at him was negatives. That was really powerful.”  

Audiences are not the only ones to love the movie. Critics also give Clouds positive reviews. IMDb gives the movie 7.5 stars. Similarly, on Rotten Tomatoes, 75% of critics enjoy Clouds, and 91% of the audience give it a stellar review. It is rated PG-13 on Disney+ for strong language. 

Despite the age rating, Clouds is a wonderful movie for the whole family, and it captures Zach Sobiech’s talent and message in such an incredible way. It is a great watch and very inspirational!