Kevin Dessimoz- Groundhog Day

The film begins with Phil Connors expressing his disdain at the monotony of his life as a weatherman in Pittsburgh. He is sick of doing the same things every year and treats people with little respect due to his own personal problems in his life. I believe that he gets stuck repeating Groundhog Day as a punishment but also as a saving grace by God. By repeating the same day over and over again Phil eventually realizes that life is not based on material things and exploiting people. Through the majority of the film he exploits people, like Nancy, for his personal gains and does not cherish anything in life but himself. Like Paul had written, Phil is in a struggle with "the flesh" but needs to capture "the spirit." The "flesh" would be Phil's corrupt behavior upon realizing that there are no consequences for his actions. Things like stealing money from the armored car or kidnapping and killing Punxsutawney Phil due to his hatred for the town and the holiday. Phil finally captures the spirit in life when he begins committing selfless acts for the benefit of the people in the town. Things like saving the old man, or catching the child who falls from the tree but never says, "Thank you." Phil finally breaks through with Rita and is genuine about it which breaks the cycle. Phil finally won the struggle and captured the "spirit" that Paul refers to allowing him to wake up on February 3rd.