Swimming Upstream

本片主要讲述了高中生莫瑞斯是学校的体育健将，同时他的学习成绩也是名列前茅，尤其是文学修养，得到老师极高的评价。新学期莫瑞斯获得了学校颁发的荣誉奖，成为全班仅有的两名获得奖学金的学生。

然而命运却捉弄了莫瑞斯，他被诊断出患有急性白血病，需要住院治疗。女友朱莉非常难过，但她却在莫瑞斯面前表现出惊人的勇敢。莫瑞斯和父亲的关系一直不太融洽，从母亲去世开始，父亲就经常酗酒，莫瑞斯认为父亲对他和姐姐桑德拉漠不关心。现在莫瑞斯生病了，他需要来自亲人的鼓励和理解。然而他和父亲之间却总是像隔着一层，无法真正对彼此敞开心扉。

面对疾病起初莫瑞斯选择了逃避，他并没有按主治医生的要求去做，而是进行大运动量的活动，导致病情恶化。出院后的莫瑞斯被要求只能留在家中或做一些类似散步的活动，以防止感染细菌。父亲与莫瑞斯谈心，并讲述了他和妻子之间鲜为人知的故事。莫瑞斯开始重新审视眼前这个生养自己却从没有用心去了解过的父亲，同时也体会到父爱的博大。

莫瑞斯生病期间，朱莉一直陪伴在他身边，给他鼓励和安慰。两个年轻人共同经历了这一段坎坷的生活，即使在莫瑞斯生命垂危的时候，朱莉也始终不离不弃。家人和朋友的爱让莫瑞斯重新站立了起来，他勇敢地和病魔做斗争，尽管谁也不知道结局会是怎样，但只要有他们的陪伴，莫瑞斯就不会轻言放弃。

The scrapbook of most teenagers shows family members and friends at a picnic, at the high school basketball game, at Disneyland. Morris Bird III's, however, paints a different picture. This happy-go-lucky, all-American kid whose only wish in life is to get laid by his cute, but hesitant girlfriend suddenly faces terminal cancer, bringing painful and difficult issues to the surface. Picture an alcoholic father, played by Michael Moriarty, whose devotion to the bottle and mastery of self-pity keeps him from communicating with his son and daughter. Picture a teenage boy whose English teacher encourages him to write; he's eloquent, full of passion for life, and is the type of free-spirit who goes against the grain, walking up on the wrong side of the escalator. Picture a best friend, played by Ben Savage, who may not be the most mature person in the world, but his support makes up for that. Then there's a sister who nurses the wounds felt from living in a fractured family. Now try to imagine a mother who died when Morris was five; her picture is missing and the only way to get a complete sense of her is through the alcoholic father. In a moving, honest scene at the end, Morris Bird II gives Morris Bird III the truth and then some. He offers his love and desire to have a relationship with his son, giving this young man completion before he succumbs to his tragic fate.Written by John Howard