Kristen Hamling: Aussie movie offers wit and a truly insightful message

TAKING FLIGHT: The growth mindset - figuring out what needs to be done and getting on with it in the movie Paper Planes.

ONCE in a while a movie comes along that slam-dunks a message right into your lap. A movie that is delivered with such insight, humour and amazing acting that it compels you to sit back and take notice.

Paper Planes is such a movie. It is an Australian comedy about a young boy who perseveres through setback, disappointment, failure and heartbreak to compete at an international paper plane competition.

The movie brilliantly articulates the Australian wit that we are so famous for. Not only is Paper Planes a fair dinkum awesome movie, but it quintessentially captures exactly what it means to live with a growth mindset.

In the movie, a young boy called Dylan starts out by building and flying paper planes in the typical schoolboy manner. But what he ends up with is something completely different and unexpected.

Dylan's journey is characterised by his growth mindset. He uses a whole heap of resources, problem-solving and ingenuity to construct the ultimate winning paper plane.

He accepts help from all sorts of people - from an indigenous bullying schoolboy turned new friend to a Japanese fellow contestant. Dylan listens to the advice and ideas from trusted friends as he learns how to approach problems from a new perspective.

Dylan also faces some personal challenges in the movie, leaving him vulnerable and needing to ask for help. But he doesn't feel sorry for himself, instead he figures out what has to be done and gets on with it.

He seeks to understand his situation and learn more about himself and his father.

We watched this movie as a family and I think that it really brought home the message to my boys - that winning is not the ultimate success, but rather what is learnt along the way.

This movie has made such a difference to my boys, so that when I asked my eldest if I looked good enough to win a speech competition, he said: "Yes mummy - but, remember, it is not all about winning." Touche!

This is a psychologist's dream movie. The young boy's attitude beautifully demonstrates that the journey to success is not an easy one - and that you can lose and still find success.

To those who think success is all about winning, then humble yourself and do some growing up. This movie would be a good place to start.

-A registered psychologist with a masters in applied psychology, Whanganui mother-of-two Kristen Hamling is studying for a PhD in wellbeing at Auckland University of Technology.