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Film Review: No Better Time Than The Holidays

Classic Cinema to restore the Spirit

By Stu EPublished 3 years ago 8 min read
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Photo by JACK MACKIE on Unsplash

We could all use something to celebrate right now, right? While many have thrown caution to the wind in the face of a global threat to our health and wellbeing, some of us are waiting for a more definitive sign that all is clear. As communities move cautiously toward reopened economies, large gathering points are still a cause for concern in most parts of the world.

Prominent among those public places are the great exhibition houses, movie theatres. Sadly, while cinema has traditionally enjoyed its greatest successes during difficult economic times, it seems current, that option is questionable at best. The movie house has fallen victim to the perfect storm in ways no other business can imagine.

Streaming channels are making it increasingly easier for us to view broadcast entertainment from the comfort of our couches. The COVID pandemic has effectively planted us on those couches for an extended enough period for us to become accustomed to the idea. Now, the Hollywood production lots, the largest factory for new films to be projected in cinemas everywhere, fell silent with the onset of COVID-19. In essence, the product line has run dry.

What to do when the ‘new releases’ section goes blank?

Time to dig deep, for we now enjoy a greater catalogue of titles at our disposal than ever before. If like me, you have finally exhausted any hope of finding any more shows of interest or sufficient quality from your favourite subscription channels, than maybe now is the time to rediscover some old friends.

So, let’s start with a holiday to get us in the mood. Christmas season seems a perfect launching point. Films made specifically about, or for release during the Christmas season have historically produced some extraordinary results.

For me, there is no better diversion during holidays than the art of motion picture. One of the most delightful parts of the Christmas season is for me at least, my annual ritual viewing of the Frank Capra classic film, ‘It’s A Wonderful Life’. Considering that I’m Jewish, that’s saying something.

As a film lover though, this story of fulfilment and redemption delivers far more than meets the eye, and never fails to inspire me. If George Bailey’s struggle doesn’t make you want to be a better person than nothing will. Now, that may sound naively trite, but what’s wrong with a little quaintness? Looking back on a simpler time may be just what society needs right now.

‘It’s A Wonderful Life’ is widely considered one of the best Christmas movies of all time, and it also stands as one the best films of all time; full stop.

Frank Capra, an extraordinary filmmaker whose career spanned from the silent era through World War II and beyond, epitomizes a time when the best Hollywood movies were made to be more than mere vehicles of entertainment. They shaped a kinder reflection of modern American life while addressing issues in palatable portions.

During the expanse of his Hollywood career, Capra created movies that delivered his message of human decency while entertaining his audience with well crafted, passionate everyday heroes. Many derided his views as simplistic and naïve, even branding the director’s body of work as ‘Capra-corn’. But the truth of his legacy will always remain intact because of his honest approach to filmmaking. Other Capra works that precede the filmmaker’s Christmas masterpiece, ‘Mr. Smith Goes to Washington’ — 1939, and ‘Meet John Doe’ — 1941, carry his consistent message of humanity, and our ability to rise above our self-made foibles.

“My films must let every man, woman, and child know that God loves them, that I love them, and that peace and salvation will become a reality only when they all learn to love each other.”

Can there be a more poignant message than that, considering the times we currently live in right now? Why then wait until Christmas to unwrap once again, a narrative treasure that continues to reinforce the positive message we all crave to hear?

Sharing Some Harmony and Good Cheer With All Humankind

The story of George Bailey from fictional Bedford Falls, New York emphasizes the notion that every act in our life has a far wider meaning than we’ll ever know ourselves. The plight of a small-town businessman who loses virtually everything except the hearts of people who thought more of him than he could imagine is a welcome reminder that better times are always ahead.

Several years ago, a ‘real-life’ example of this kind of communal kindness occurred near where I live, when a local independent movie theatre called Film.ca was desperate to stay afloat during the massive shift to the digital exhibition of movies. At the time, cinema house owner Jeff Knoll was almost ready to close his doors permanently when the Oakville, Ontario community came to his rescue with donations and advanced ticket purchases. Mr. Knoll later wisely capitalized on the ‘It’s A Wonderful Life’ theme in his future marketing plan. He even named his in-house pizza oven “Zuzu’s”. Ever since reopening his screens, Jeff Knoll has, in turn, been a consistent promoter of local business and community events.

What a theme to emanate for today’s world; every good deed is returned with another. That’s only the main storyline of Frank Capra’s Christmas season epic. It is the rich sub-plots that provide a wealth of lessons we would do well to heed in today’s troubled environment.

The film promotes the message of the community over greed, sacrifice over personal reward, and more pertinently, being truly thankful for what one has rather than what we chase. That is why many consider ‘It’s A Wonderful Life’ to be Capra’s magnum opus, But, before creating his masterpiece, Frank Capra would spend four years making films of a different kind altogether for a completely different audience.

Capra Goes To War

When the United States was attacked at Pearl Harbor in December 1941, and suddenly embroiled in the global conflict, Frank Capra was one of the first Hollywood ‘A’ listers to leave his job to become a profound contributor to the war effort.

“I had a guilty conscience. In my films, I championed the cause of the gentle, the poor, the downtrodden. Yet I had begun to live like the Aga Khan”.

The director committed his efforts to produce ‘Why We Fight’, a seven-film series for the U.S. Armed Forces which were instrumental in aiding America’s recruitment of an effective fighting force. Capra is also responsible for the war film, ‘The Negro Soldier’ which not only effectively recruited black men to join the fight, but spoke unabashedly of the stereotypes and prejudices being voiced by the Hitler regime against blacks.

As a champion for racial equality, it was no coincidence that Capra created the role of Annie, a live-in maid employed by the Bailey family in ‘It’s A Wonderful Life’. Although a servant, Annie was portrayed as a free-willed, intelligent member of the family household who was never short of opinions or wisecracks. Now, before you begin bombarding me with nasty replies, please note that I’m talking about 1946 here. For that era, fresh from world war and still some twenty years from civil unrest, this woman’s role in Capra’s film was a huge leap up from the traditional stereotypes being perpetrated by Hollywood.

For his tireless work during World War II, Frank Capra received a Distinguished Service Medal from General George Marshall. When he returned to Hollywood, he would join the independent, Liberty Films company where creative freedom allowed his filmmaking to flourish.

Capra had a vision for where Western civilization was headed in post-war Tinseltown. He went on to describe his sentiments about Hollywood life, but they may just as well have been echoed as a sentiment for all of America to heed.

“The curse of Hollywood is big money. It comes so fast it breeds and imposes its own mores, not of wealth, but of ostentation and phony status.”

Something for us to think about today as we slowly come out of our isolation doldrums to resume the pursuit of wealth and prosperity.

Capra seems rather prescient with his characterization of the antagonist in ‘It’s A Wonderful Life’. Old man Potter, the would-be king of Bedford Falls, is a wealthy magnate who is possessed with the idea of destroying everything the Bailey’s have built. There are no lows he won’t sink to slow the prosperity of the town’s citizens in the name of his greed.

Sound familiar?

If nothing else, many of Capra’s films depict two very distinct and equally important themes. While they remind us that people are still suffering around the globe for a variety of reasons, they also promote a hopeful message that life is never as dark as it seems as long as people come together in aid of each other.

In a time when much of our entertainment seems soulless and void of any deeper meaning, and as people chase wealth in absence of conscience, Frank Capra’s ‘It’s A Wonderful Life’, is a welcome reminiscence of a simpler time.

Positive reinforcement, no matter how ‘Capra-corny’, plays an enormous role in all our lives. On many occasions when I feel the downward pull of political unrest and the self-absorbed pursuits of some, I find solace in the cinematic works of master filmmakers like Frank Capra.

Nothing can replace the visceral experience of viewing these great artworks on the big screen. My wife and I have made a tradition of seeing ‘It’s A Wonderful Life’ at Film.ca every Christmas season. We hope to be back again enjoying this masterpiece, and many others like it soon.

For now, if you enjoy the history of cinema and the tapestries created by top filmmakers, please join me here for future musings about the films I find most inspirational. I will embark on a journey that discusses the merits and artistry of the films I love. Please join me and share your thoughts.

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About the Creator

Stu E

Every Life is a Story-Every Story has a Life. I love to write stories to inspire. Biographies, film reviews, and a touch of humor. Life is for learning, always.

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