Somehow I convinced my teenager son to come with his sister and his mother to see A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. He didn’t want to come see it, but when the movie ended he stood up crying and requested that we all give each other a family hug. We did that in the theater, the four of us, reaching arms out around each other. That is the power of this movie.

In a world in which hate is so prevalent, I needed a little respite of a time that seems so long ago now.

I grew up watching Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood on PBS. I remember Mister Rogers’ cadence as he spoke. His smile and how he took his time to talk, explain and share his message.

Decades have passed since I last watching Mr. Rogers on TV. I’ve changed, the world has changed, and over all those years, a backlash has come full circle. I’ve heard people make fun of Mr. Rogers and compare him to a cult leader and all sorts of nasty things.

But when I sat in the theater yesterday and watched A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, I really didn’t think about any of that. Instead, Tom Hanks embodied Mister Rogers. I honestly forgot that it was Tom Hanks playing the role.

There is a lot that I can write about this movie, but I don’t want to spoil it. Watching the movie is an experience and an amazing one that I really wouldn’t want to ruin for those who haven’t seen it.

But I experienced such joy during the film and profound longing. In the movie trailer, there’s a scene in which Mr. Rogers is on the subway, and a bunch of fellow passengers starts singing the theme song “Won’t you be my neighbor?” and I couldn’t stop from crying during that scene. I know it sounds stupid to get all choked up over watching a movie about a guy who had a television show. Yet the ache I felt to see that pure happiness and joy spread to others and be shared in today’s hateful world, well, it just overwhelmed me.

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood is about Mr. Rogers, but it’s also about family and forgiveness.

What it takes to forgive yourself or someone else who has done a horrible thing. To take such complicated themes and wrap them up around Mister Rogers is a clever bit of movie magic as this film isn’t for children. No, this film is for all of us adults who have forgotten that we were once children.

I cannot speak more highly of this film. It doesn’t matter if you see it in the theater when it comes out on streaming or even on your iPhone on the way to work in the morning. Where you see it doesn’t matter, but I would recommend seeing the movie with friends and family.

There’s a line in the movie that goes something like: “No, he’s not a saint. Using the word saint makes it seems that what he believes is unattainable. He’s human like everyone else and works hard each day to be as he is.”

I don’t have the words right, but that’s the sentiment. Mister Rogers lived his life like any other person. He had faults, made mistakes but he tried his best to share compassion and love to the world. But what I found most endearing is that he listened to children and treated them with respect. He did not speak in a condescending way or down at children. He helped them find a way to express and deal with emotions—both happy and sad ones.

After seeing the movie, I looked up Tom Junod’s “Can You Say… Hero?” Esquire article that the film is based on and read it. The stories of Mr. Rogers and his interaction with children found within that article are very much saint-like, but I would agree that maybe that’s not the point of all this.

Maybe, after seeing A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, we can come out of it and be inspired to be more like Mr. Rogers. Instead of looking for someone to come replace him or to save us in this hate-filled world, each of us can take responsibility and be more compassionate to others. What would that be like if we let down our guards and opened up to others?

Maybe it would mean allowing ourselves the chance to feel such joy in helping others. Perhaps it would mean that we didn’t have to play into the game of us versus them. Or to numb ourselves with all the niceties of modern society.

Just maybe, we can open our hearts and love each other. What a great gift that would be.

I think, even if I fail, I will take this message to heart.

To those who made this movie, thank you for doing so. I loved it. And to Fred Rogers, if there is an afterlife, thank you for all your compassion, patience, and kindness.

I think all along, he wasn’t so much trying to share with us something, but rather show us how to be better. Not to be a saint, but to be open to having a neighborhood of friends. A global community in which all of us (no matter our race, creed, sexual identity, or gender) could come together.

That’s a powerful message. For the price of a movie ticket, you bet it was well worth it.

Thank you, Mister Rogers. Thank you.