THE HUMAN COMEDY (78)

Directed by: Clarence Brown (1943)

Starring: Mickey Rooney, Frank Morgan, Fay Bainter

The Pitch: Life in an idyllic small town during WW II.

Theo Sez: One of a kind: no other film is so embarrassingly fake and saccharine, yet so effortlessly able - out of nowhere, and quite literally - to move you to helpless tears. The reason is almost certainly its profound faith in what can only be called human goodness - not virtue, or the sanctimonious do-goodery of Louisa May Alcott novels, but a goodwill towards others and a deep conviction that Life is basically worth living. All its characters - who are often flawed, but never cruel - feel this, and tell us about it in long, lyrical, unabashed speeches, even the most minor characters having it seems a story to tell, savouring the quirky beauties of Life. We see boys sneaking into an old man's yard to steal unripe apricots, and we see the old man too, watching them indulgently, talking (to himself, presumably) about the treasurable naivety of youthful adventures: "If I could ripen them for you to steal I'd do it - all for the wondrous faith in ye!". Amazingly, it works, or at least the bits that don't have you squirming in your seat work beautifully - perhaps because the film understands that these are small lives without any loud triumphs, or perhaps because of the wartime setting (with its melancholy overtones, soldiers killed overseas), or perhaps because the images are often lovely, but most probably because it's all idealised, and totally aware of it. The film admits - indeed, emphasises - the Utopian nature of this small town, and seeks to tap into a collective memory, to include us all among its denizens, not least through its constant use of popular songs as emotional shorthand. Strangely enough (given their tonal differences), the films it recalls most strongly are Terence Davies's memory-pieces, only refusing to dwell on the sad and ugly memories - not denying their existence, merely finding them overshadowed by all the joy and love in the world. Obviously its worldview is corny, and deluded and artificial - but it chooses to be; and that somehow makes it very touching.