Originally posted by SC:
I'm somewhat disappointed in your "take" of this film, Mick.Strange how two people can watch the same movie and come away from it so differently.
That's the beauty of film, man.
It's A wonderful Life is one of my "must-sees" each holiday season!
Perhaps. I'm glad I watched it without a doubt. Who wouldn't be glad that they've at least watched an apparent classic?
Perhaps you should watch this film with some older people and then ask them about the film.
What on
Earth has age got to do with it?
This film obviously has a lot to say about life and how great it is to live in such a materialist world. But as I say, it's message was only conveyed half-heartedly, and perhaps it would have worked on me better had it not focused on a character for whom I did not feel it was worth it.
He's far from likeable, particularly after the opening twenty minutes, after which he turns into some doomed pessemist who, seeing his own bleak selfishness, brings those around him down too. The way his loss of money affected the way he treat his children on Christmas Eve was atrocious.
If I wanted to watch a film that makes me stop and look at life and think about it, I'd watch something such as Bergman's
The Seventh Seal or Kurosawa's
Ikiru. Two masterpieces which deal with death and the treasured gift that is life. And neither of them seem like a rehash of Dickens'
A Christmas Carol.Thanks for the replies.
Mick
