It's no wonder why Tom Hanks would always be present in my most favourite actor list. And so is Denzel Washington. And it's no wonder why Philadelphia is one of those movies that would both astonish and move you. This is one solid film, powerful, stirring and emotionally complex, as well as socially and politically conscious. A movie like this that contains complex issues like AIDS, homosexuality and gender discriminations is seldomly accepted by the audience, but a film like this beckons and prods each and every heart, knocking on your own soul to learn, understand and accept every single cranny in this film. Its message is timely and although it doesn't break any new ground, it tries to change a social context that each and everyone of us is believing. It is also a credible and mesmerising courtroom drama. It shouts and cries to the society that discriminating gays (or even lesbians) is never fair. And that gays with AIDS are entirely tabooed out of the community.Tom Hanks character plays a gay lawyer who was suffering from AIDS and as soon as the firm he was working for knew his illness, he was fired straight away. And what he did was to fight back, feeling the wrath of discrimination, against his employers. He hired Denzel Washington, another lawyer, to fight for his side, only to find out that Washington's character was an anti-homosexual himself. Now, two men trying to find justice and questioning their deeper selves, leading to a way of life that they never expected to arrive into.Tom Hanks is brilliant. OK, he was brilliant is Forrest Gump, but he's equally brilliant here. His character seems to jump out from the screen and the way he portrays it is - plainly stupendous. Denzel Washington is also a stunner, and from this film itself, he shows signs of becoming one of Hollwood's big marketer. Watching this film made me less ignorant of the world. Made me realise that there are people out there suffering from a more horrible disease, no not AIDS, but discrimination and injustice. The truths that we must face must not vanish into obscurity.

Rating: A-