For most of my adult life, when anyone would ask me, "What's your favorite movie?," I would inevitably respond, "American Graffiti." In fact, I still use it as a standby, though narrowing my favorite to one is a tough thing to do. One night back in the 90's my lifelong friend and cousin Jeremy and I attended a double feature of "Jaws" and this film in an art house in Pasadena. That night was just another important stop in my journey of loving movies. It also solidified this movie's place in my heart.
The movie (directed by George Lucas, just before he directed "Star Wars") mainly follows the adventures of four young people the last night before two of them (Ron Howard and Richard Dreyfuss) go off to college. The other two principals are an undergraduate and grizzled dragster who has left his youthful idealism behind. The movie follows their adventures this one night as they cruise the streets, order fries, play pranks, and avoid the local authorities.
As such, the movie does not have much of a plot. Instead, it mainly is an evocative work. Every scene takes us back in time to our own youth, even though all of us did not graduate from high school in 1962. I primarily identify with Curt, played by a youthful Richard Dreyfuss. His anxieties about the future seem so familiar, but he has the ability to weave his way through many different high school cliques-something I would like to think I did as well. Steve (Ron Howard) was the class president and has decided he must shake the dust off his crummy hometown and head on to bigger things. One problem...he is desperately in love with Laurie, and in then end he has to decide if his love for her will overcome his ambition. John Milner (Paul Le Mat) is the reigning race king of the Valley, and he is seeming older and he realizes time is not on his side as he is forced to cruise the streets with an underage girl. Terry (Charles Martin Smith) is the lovable nerd who inherits a wonderful car, successfully lands a blonde, and ends up playing an important role in the big race at the end of the movie. The vignettes in the film are too numerous to mention. My favorite involves Curt's run in with a local car gang. He is so out of place and yet manages to earn the gang's respect through an outrageous prank. And all of the film is held together by Wolfman Jack and incredible rock n' roll. The end of the movie leaves you feeling very much like the characters feel...tired, emotional, but realizing they had been through something special.
In the end, the movie is about certain feelings. The feelings are familiar to anyone who was young...hope, poignancy, fear, bravery, and, in the end...the realization that youth is fleeting. For Curt, he realizes he must follow his dream. For Steve, he realizes his place is with the woman he loves, even at the cost of his dreams. For John, he realizes his time is coming to an end, and in the end, changes nothing in spite of that. Terry realizes very little except that he needs to grow up. I have felt all of those things. But now that I am married and have 3 children, the emotions of the film become even greater. The comedy of the film is even funnier. And the end of the film is even more stark. Some movies are clearly just good or bad, while some really mean something to us. This movie will always mean something special to me.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Life Is Beautiful
There is so much to say, but I must be succinct. One of my aims on this blog is not only to talk about movies, but also to talk about my experience of them. This movie will always be linked to dating my wife and realizing over time that I had found the person with whom I wanted to spend my life.
In the fall of 1998, I heard about an Italian movie that had been released here in the US. It was billed as a Holocaust comedy. That sounded odd to me. So, Stephanie and I made the drive to West LA (it was only in very limited release at that point) to see this movie. Fittingly, we had just enjoyed a wonderful Italian meal that night and we made our way to the Cecchi Gori art house.
The movie was mesmerizing. I had never felt such a range of emotions before. The film opens with one of the funniest scenes I have ever seen, and closes with tragedy and hope. The film follows Guido (Roberto Benigni, in the role that won him an Oscar), an Italian Jewish man who is watching the Anti-Semitic Nazis' powers rising. In the midst of this, he falls in love with his wife and has a son. As the inevitable happens and the family is taken to the concentration camp, the father devises a way to shield his young son from the horrors around him. Along the way, we come face to face with uproarious comedy and heart breaking cruelty. The film's end is only possible in movies, but the movie is only so powerful because it reflects on horrors that actually took place.
The movie is really divided neatly into halves. The first half is a hilarious and sweet romantic comedy, as Guido wins the heart of his princess. The second half follows the tragic reality of the institutionalized racism of the Nazi regime. Benigni's performance is amazing. He calls to mind great silent comedians like Chaplin and Keaton with this work, but has a sort of scheming and conniving that reminds me of Bugs Bunny. He is able to weave his way through this story (as he also directed the movie) and effortlessly move into the dramatic scenes in which a father is forced to deal with absolute horror.
Benigni's Oscar speeches have become legendary, and rightfully so. But they sort of distract from the simple brilliance of the performance and his direction. This is a story that could have gone astray so easily. Yet somehow, Benigni finds a way to walk the line between comedy and tragedy.
The movie ended. Stephanie and I (while still getting to know each other) look at each other with tears in our eyes. We had seen something special, and the cool thing was, no one else had seen it yet! We felt like we were in on something special. The movie went on to accolades, and Stephanie and I have been married for 11 wonderful years. The themes of this movie have stuck with us, and the strains of its lovely score still transport me back to that very specific time in my life.
In the fall of 1998, I heard about an Italian movie that had been released here in the US. It was billed as a Holocaust comedy. That sounded odd to me. So, Stephanie and I made the drive to West LA (it was only in very limited release at that point) to see this movie. Fittingly, we had just enjoyed a wonderful Italian meal that night and we made our way to the Cecchi Gori art house.
The movie was mesmerizing. I had never felt such a range of emotions before. The film opens with one of the funniest scenes I have ever seen, and closes with tragedy and hope. The film follows Guido (Roberto Benigni, in the role that won him an Oscar), an Italian Jewish man who is watching the Anti-Semitic Nazis' powers rising. In the midst of this, he falls in love with his wife and has a son. As the inevitable happens and the family is taken to the concentration camp, the father devises a way to shield his young son from the horrors around him. Along the way, we come face to face with uproarious comedy and heart breaking cruelty. The film's end is only possible in movies, but the movie is only so powerful because it reflects on horrors that actually took place.
The movie is really divided neatly into halves. The first half is a hilarious and sweet romantic comedy, as Guido wins the heart of his princess. The second half follows the tragic reality of the institutionalized racism of the Nazi regime. Benigni's performance is amazing. He calls to mind great silent comedians like Chaplin and Keaton with this work, but has a sort of scheming and conniving that reminds me of Bugs Bunny. He is able to weave his way through this story (as he also directed the movie) and effortlessly move into the dramatic scenes in which a father is forced to deal with absolute horror.
Benigni's Oscar speeches have become legendary, and rightfully so. But they sort of distract from the simple brilliance of the performance and his direction. This is a story that could have gone astray so easily. Yet somehow, Benigni finds a way to walk the line between comedy and tragedy.
The movie ended. Stephanie and I (while still getting to know each other) look at each other with tears in our eyes. We had seen something special, and the cool thing was, no one else had seen it yet! We felt like we were in on something special. The movie went on to accolades, and Stephanie and I have been married for 11 wonderful years. The themes of this movie have stuck with us, and the strains of its lovely score still transport me back to that very specific time in my life.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)