In general terms, since last year I barely have forces to concentrate myself in watching a movie for 2 hours without getting sleepy. Who would had thought about it! Since I certainly missed the feeling I always had after watching a good film, I kind of forced myself to return and asked my father about a lighthearted piece. He recommended me one of his favourites, Frank Capra’s You Can’t Take it With You.
I knew Frank Capra from the beloved Christmas Classic It’s a Wonderful Life, so I imagined it wouldn’t be an overly heavy or complicated watch. It was a good choice, since this film caught my good attention and smiled a lot with it. A classical story of a romance between two people from different social extractions, but with a twist. The rich guy does not really fit with the (back then and now) cinema-stereotypic capitalist way of life, since he prefers researching chlorophyll to making easy money with his father’s bank; and the family of the lower class girl consists of a plethora of delightfully grotesque characters who live their lifes according to their hobbies without paying much attention to the Establishment, and openly defying it in many cases. Loops and plottwists constantly appear, and the dialogues and visual gags are a delish of wit.
Frank Capra is known for being the filmmaker of the New Deal, and thought of presenting the possibilities of a better, more humane, almost innocent worldview in his works. What especially resonated with me in the case of You Can’t Take it With You is the overall message denouncing the inhuman consquences of the excess of work, money gathering and putting individualistic achievements over anything else. I find myself in the same situation. Since last year, I have experienced nothing but work, tiredness and isolation trying to improve my career and putting everything behind it. I got conscious that I lost touch with people, am unmotivated to get to my hobbies again, and feel lonely and lost. Hearing this in a movie (better explained, of course) hit really hard.
Who knows, perhaps this movie came to me intentionally. But it is a true hard pill to swallow.
You Can’t Take it With You made me smile, laugh, think and overall gave me a lasting impression. I had forgotten long ago what movies meant for me. I am thankful to have been reminded of it.