Peaceful Warrior

Dan Millman is a university student as well as a locally famous gymnast who dreams of winning a National Championship competition. He suffers from restlessness, and on one occasion, Dan attempts to compensate for the restlessness by running along streets before sunrise. At a car-service station, he encounters an old man who seems to know more about Dan's problem than Dan himself knows, whom Dan later nicknames "Socrates". Dan is unsettled by Socrates' knowledge; by the fact that Socrates had appeared in a nightmare as a faceless janitor, clad in mismatched shoes (by which he is identified in waking life), who sweeps up the pieces of Dan's shattered leg; and by the old man's extraordinary speed, agility, and coordination. As a result of his exposure to the last, Dan seeks to learn the secret behind it.

本片改編自前世界級彈簧床錦標選手丹．米爾曼於八○年代撰寫出版的半自傳小說，小說以樸實的故事和一句句發人深省的哲理金句風靡全球。奧運體操選手丹米爾曼是學校體操隊最受矚目的一顆星，擁有完美的體態、俊俏的臉蛋、家境富裕、學業優秀，然而看似完美的他卻夜夜飽受噩夢所苦。某天一如往常被惡夢驚醒的他，踏入一間24小時營業的加油站，遇見一個神祕的老人。老人不僅擁有瞬間從地面跳到屋頂的絕技，出口的話語更是充滿奧義。力求在體操表現更上一層樓的丹苦求老人傳授「飛簷走壁」的秘技給他，並戲稱老人為「蘇格拉底」。蘇格拉底同意收丹為徒後，要求他展開一連串「苦行修練」，徹底擺脫積累已久，對身心造成嚴重破壞的縱情生活。於是，飲食節制、勞動、禁慾成了丹的新生活，儘管有些不適應，但這樣的改變確實讓他的體操表現愈來愈完美。然而，就在丹對這套修練從輕蔑、質疑到漸漸相信時，一場車禍卻將他推入人生谷底。被迫將擁有的一切通通打掉重練的丹，在絕望中苦苦掙扎，終於蘇格拉底的帶領下，終於悟出「活在當下」的真諦。