“Clouds” started streaming on Disney+ on Oct. 16, 2020. Before the movie came out, Zach Sobiech’s story had been heard worldwide through his band, A Firm Handshake. The new movie allows for an even closer glimpse into his life and it doesn’t disappoint.
The film starts in Minnesota in fall 2012 where viewers are first introduced to Zach (Fin Argus). He appears to be going through another round of chemotherapy, one they claim is just for formalities. In actuality, his cancer, osteosarcoma, has spread to his lungs and he’s informed he only has six to 10 months left to live.
In this small amount of time, Zach and his best friend, Sammy Brown (Sabrina Carpenter), produce a song, “Fix Me Up”, and post it on YouTube. With no time wasted, the video receives 20 thousand views and grows more and more over time. A music company was given their music video and wanted to sign them as songwriters. Both of them accept the offer and Zach produces his debut single, “Clouds”, inspired by his girlfriend, Amy Adamle (Madison Iseman).
All over the world, news articles are written about him and his song, and he started the Zach Sobiech Osteosarcoma Fund to find a cure for others with his cancer. “Clouds” soon reaches top charts.
The Metropolitan then calls and wants him and Sammy to perform. Sadly, Zach has grown weaker as each day has passed. His family decides to throw many parties at once at the performance: birthday, graduation and prom. At the party, Sammy performs a song dedicated to Zach called “How To Go To Confession”. After, Zach is supposed to perform his hit single, but his shortness of breath doesn’t allow him to. The one goal he wanted was for people to sing back the lyrics he wrote and that’s what happened that night. The movie then ends with Zach’s passing.
Before I watched this movie, I had never heard of Zach’s story. The film sticks with you and makes you uncontrollably sob, so make sure to be prepared with tissues.
Not only is the storyline amazing, but the music is also heavenly. Music from Fin Argus and Sabrina Carpenter is in the soundtrack and music from Zach and Sammy are also included. The director portrayed the real-life events perfectly but also changed some things because of the two hour time length. Personally, I give this movie a 9/10 for those small changes, but other than that, I definitely recommend others to give it a watch.
