It’s a wonderful life after all!!

What pleasure do simple things give us in life , like finding a ten rupee note in a jeans not worn for a long time ,or accidentally cooking something that is edible , listening to your favorite rare song played randomly by a radio station , meeting a long lost friend on the railway station,  I just got the same feeling after watching Frank Capra’s masterpiece  It’s a wonderful life , I had seen the movie in my yesteryears but watching it again after understanding the cinematic idiom a bit was a totally different experience.

I don’t intend it to be a review as much as it is an emotional outburst, and the minority that might haven’t seen the movie may find it too much of a fairy table or an Aesop’s fable, but what I understood of the movie was it is the best human story that I have seen, Christmas is just the background, but what lies beneath the surface is the feeling of sacrifice, courage and humanity

SPOILER ALERT

The story is simple , an angel set out by god to help a discouraged man  and reaffirm his faith in humanity , and if the angel does so he will get his wings , poor soul is still an ASA ( angel second class) and desperate to become an angel first class , but god wouldnt be that easy on him , on earth George Bailey is a young man who wanted to travel, have adventures, go to college, and be an architect in a big city. But  responsibilities to his family and to his community kept him from leaving the small town where he grew up. He held down a responsible job, worked hard, treated people decently, and helped out whenever he could.  

But what sets the movie apart is Capra’s brilliant direction, and his ability to bind human stories in a way that not just makes it point but makes the viewer a part of the narrative , a quality that is so lacking in most film makers today .Capra is also at his best in his ability as a screenwriter , he binds the scenes so  poignant with emotion  in a way that never do they seem overblown or sentimental.

It’s a wonderful life spans two of the most traumatic events of the last century , the great depression and the second world war , and the ordinary man’s journey through them , which in this case would be the protagonist of the film George Bailey played brilliantly by James Stewart . Stewart gives the finest performance of his career as the man finding hard to find himself , it’s such a powerful performance that it’s difficult to believe that it is an actor playing a part, his boyish charm and wide eyed enthusiasm along with the moral strength of his character is what makes him the perfect hero ,  Donna Reed is beautiful and sublime , her unparalleled portrayal of a supportive and intelligent wife , brings out an extremely charming , believable and romantic on screen chemistry that one rarely sees.

Capra’s unflinching faith in the human life and inherent belief that man is a good creature, the feeling of optimism that we also saw in Satyajit ray’s cinema, is the inherent belief of the film, that it is not a bad world .

The film not just makes you feel good, but it also makes you feel better , which in these dark times of nine eleven to twenty six eleven, is becoming a scarce commodity, it reposes your faith that you have stopped believing into, it moves you in a way that you are forced to introspect.

So for those who haven’t seen, you are missing something, and for those who have, see it again, you’ll enjoy it even more; I did.