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Post by HoudiniDerek on Dec 23, 2020 12:32:32 GMT -5
If you have not seen this movie from the 1940s and do not want it ruined, please don't read any further because there will be spoilers.
I finally sat down and watched this last night. I have heard about it for years and a lot of people love it, but I have never seen it. I was surprised at how long it was. Overall, I thought the movie was good, but it will likely never make my top 10 of Christmas movies.
Things that I don't understand/don't like about the movie:
1. Nothing happens to the bad guy that we see! I invested over two hours. I want to see the bad guy get it!
2. George Bailey is still technically a bad guy. Yes, the cop or whoever tears up the warrant, but that doesn't keep him from being considered guilty and he could still be arrested at any time!
3. I wish we had gotten more about the lives without George. It would have been neat to have them walk back through time on some of those things so we can see the immediate aftermath. I feel like that portion of the movie was only about twenty minutes.
4. I love his wife in this, but she more or less told him to get out. Then, she rallied the town without knowing for sure what happened and everything was forgiven? No scene between him and his family for a more realistic apology.
5. The angel was just okay. He wasn't in it much and I don't really relate to the character overall.
I think the thing about this movie is that it's supposed to make you think about how special you are to the people in your orbit. I think that's very hard to do now compared to then. I didn't spend my whole life in the same town doing the same job. From this movie, you get the idea that George NEVER left. Plus, money went a lot further when people could survive on a loan of twenty bucks for 60 days.
Additionally, I find it so hard to relate. He literally helped people buy and stay in their homes. While I do community development work, I don't have that direct of an impact. While my lack of being born would definitely impact a few people, I don't think anyone in my orbit would end up in some of the conditions or situations that these people did without George.
Overall, a good movie, but hard to relate to and enjoy completely with some of those thoughts and such. What does everyone else think about this movie?
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amyk
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Post by amyk on Dec 23, 2020 19:02:35 GMT -5
First off, I love this movie and can't even tell you how many times I've watched it. I have much of it memorized. So I may come off as rather defensive!  But of course everyone is entitled to their own opinion!  I kind of like it that we don't know what happens to Potter - perhaps he, like Ebeneezer Scrooge, will have an event that brings about his redemption. But even if he is not redeemed or ever punished, I think we can see that he is already living in his own self-made punishment, being so grumpy and nobody loving him, not even those who work for him. You can tell they don't love him. I think because the money is going to be repaid (through the generosity of George's friends), there won't be any lost money and really no reason to hold George accountable. Perhaps it doesn't really work that way in the real world, but I believe it does in the world of Bedford Falls. I feel like this portion of the movie is quite powerful and maybe "less is more" in this case. Especially powerful and very emotional to me is the scene in the graveyard with Harry's gravestone. I think that initially Mary responded from a very human standpoint, and also George was pretty scary. She may have even been afraid of him momentarily. But George did sort of apologize, only Mary was still so upset about all that had happened just before that. I think she probably regretted telling him to get out and once he left, she immediately went back into her usual mode of thinking the best about everyone, realizing that something very terrible must have happened that led her husband to act the way he was acting, which was very out of character for him. Aw, I love Clarence! I don't know that I have ever thought "he wasn't in it much," although it's true that he only appears in part of the movie. But it just feels like he has been there all along, which in a way he has been since he has been "watching" the story of George's life unfold along with the rest of us. Although I love Clarence in the movie, it does sort of drive me crazy that the Hollywood concept of angels usually is not matching the biblical account of angels, i.e. in the Bible people who die do not become angels. I don't know if any religions teach that angels are people who have died and become some other kind of being. I don't know that I agree that the movie is supposed to make you think about how special you are to the people in your orbit. I guess I would put it more like the theme of the movie is that each person, no matter who you are, is significant and has a purpose for existing that affects many others' lives, even when you are unaware of that happening. If we all viewed one another like that, just think how much kinder the world may be. Hmmm.....I don't know about that. I think that if any one of us were not born, perhaps there would be quite a lot of differences that we could never imagine based on our own view of things. Perhaps you not being there would impact only one person, but then what if that one person has an impact on many, many people? So then your not being there to impact that one person could lead to many others also being impacted. I guess you can tell from the above pretty much what I think about the movie. I feel like I can relate to it fairly well, and while my life may not have as much of an impact for good that George's life had, I do like that the movie shows us the dignity and importance of each human being. Even Mr. Potter, while he is never redeemed in the movie, has impacted many people. Unfortunately, he has impacted them for evil. In that sense, it is actually pretty sad to think that if Mr. Potter had never been born, the world would be a better place. But on the other hand, without people like Mr. Potter, maybe there would be less opportunity for the kindness of others to shine. I wonder though if Mr. Potter actually is living in pain in his wheelchair and maybe wished he had never been born.....perhaps he is in chronic pain and because of that is unable to show kindness to others. Perhaps he was raised by an abusive parent. It could have been interesting to have a sequel to this movie and learn more about Mr. Potter and have a chance for his redemption, which I guess would basically be a retelling of A CHRISTMAS CAROL. |
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Post by HoudiniDerek on Dec 23, 2020 19:42:29 GMT -5
Good points, Amy. I think we definitely see it differently, but probably because you have been watching it for years and this was my first viewing. Pretty much everyone I have talked to today about it have been HUGE fans of the movie, so they don't appreciate my take at all. I agree that the "less is more" angle is played well in a few parts, primarily with his old boss and the loss of his brother. But the others are brief snapshots and we don't see WHY George was important to the overall picture. And I think that is what's disappointing. Mary's life without him isn't BAD per se. She's a single librarian and I think she is reasonably scared when he chases her down the street. I think there were a lot of liberties there and that not everyone had a bad life without him. Are there others, beside Potter, who had good lives because he didn't exist? That would have been powerful too I think. I agree that with the money paid back there is no discrepancy. However, the money is still missing and that means to the examiner that someone likely embezzled. So, since Potter swore out the warrant on Bailey, then he should still be arrested until the missing money is found. That's part of the reason I wish we could have seen the resolution and confrontation with Potter. You make a good point about Potter being a miserable old man and seeing it a little like A CHRISTMAS CAROL. It would have been interesting though to see if Bailey not being born had any negative impact on Potter too. That could have been eye opening for the character. I agree about the dead people becoming angels. A lot of shows/movies seem to do that. I think it's part of the human condition to want to remember, to be on earth, to be at that level when dead. I agree that my life could dramatically impact one person who could impact several. I think the best example in this movie is the way George impacts Harry's life. I just find it harder to see who I might have impacted. I think I have a good life and I hope the majority of people I interact with or have in the past find me to be a positive influence on their life. But I think it can be hard to see and I'm not sure this movie really made me believe it overall. Thanks for all of the insight as to your answers to my questions and what you like about the movie, Amy. |
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amyk
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Post by amyk on Dec 24, 2020 23:03:07 GMT -5
My husband does not get so into this movie as me.....I just watched part of it on TV, but not from the beginning. I think some of us who love it so much just feel a lot of nostalgia about it. I have so many lines memorized and even actions. It is kind of like how I know so many lines in TAT and in some weird way, maybe watching this movie makes me feel a bit the same as I feel when I watch TAT. There's some kind of nice comfortable feeling about it when you know a movie or TV show so well, in my opinion. (My husband, on the other hand, basically thinks if he has seen something once, he doesn't really need to see it again.)
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But of course everyone is entitled to their own opinion! 