"A Civilization Gone with the Wind"

“There was a land of cavaliers and cotton fields called the Old South. Here in this pretty world, gallantry took its last bow. Here was the last ever to be seen of knights and their ladies fair, of master and slave. Look for it in books for it is no more that a dream remembered, a civilization gone with the wind.”

I have to admit, love of the really old classic movies is an acquired taste. More often than not, the prestigious titles just aren’t entertaining. “Gone with the Wind” is the complete opposite.  It is majestic, beautiful, powerful, poetic, and arguably the best love story of all time (sorry Nicholas Sparks fans, but The Notebook doesn’t hold a candle to this). The best thing about it is you don’t have to have a deep appreciation for old classics to enjoy it. In a way, it’s like lots of modern movies in the sense that it has the whole “girl falls for boy, boy doesn’t love girl and marries another, girl tries to make boy jealous and marries someone else, girl pines for boy, girl gets swept off her feet by a different boy, etc.” and it goes on and on. When you throw the Civil War into the mix you end up with one of the most famous movies ever, eight Academy Awards and my personal favorite. According to Joseph Campbell's myth theory every story is the same, but I must say Gone With the Wind is like no other story.

For those of you that have unfortunately never seen “Gone with the Wind”, it is about an intense and turbulent love affair between the hard-headed, manipulative and beautiful Scarlett O’Hara and the conniving, but equally passionate Rhett Butler and how they survive the Civil War and the Reconstruction.  Scarlett professes her love for another man, Ashley Wilkes but is denied and he marries her cousin, Melanie. Through the war, Scarlett longs for Ashley while trying to keep her family and her beloved plantation, Tara, together with Rhett Butler falling deeper in love with her all the while.

The ending of “Gone with the Wind” is so perfect that I cannot bear to spoil it for anyone who hasn’t seen it. All I can say is that it the beauty of the cinematography and the poetry of the script is well worth watching, and if anyone says no movie is worth four hours of their time all I have to say to them (in the famous words of Rhett Butler) is “Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn”. 

The best scene:

"There’s one thing I do know and that is that I love you Scarlett. In spite of you and me and the whole silly world going to pieces around us, I love you. Because we’re alike. I love you more than I’ve ever loved anyone and I’ve waited for you longer than I’ve ever waited for anyone."

La Vita e Bella: Buongiorno Principessa!

What words come to mind when describing a Holocaust movie? Probably something along the lines of sad, haunting, morose, painful, etc. I doubt anyone would say beautiful, charming, whimsical, or enchanting, but that is how I would describe one of my favorite movies, “Life is Beautiful”. In most of my past movie-watching experience the movies that are showered with praise from prestigious film festivals and the Academy turn out to just be plain weird, however I will however take this judgment back after seeing “Life is Beautiful”.

For those of you that have not heard of this incredible movie, it is an Italian masterpiece directed by and starring Roberto Benigni, receiving seven Oscars and winning three along with an endless stream of praise. It is about an irresistibly charming Italian man named Guido with an charismatic sense of humor and how he sweeps the woman of his dreams of her feet (by his simple but classic line Buongiorno Principessa). They have a son and it looks like happily-ever-after until the reality of the Holocaust starts to catch up with them. When Guido and his family are taken to a Nazi concentration camp, he does an incredible job of turning the horrifying reality of their situation into a simple game to save his son through his unwavering optimism. The ending will restore all of your faith in humanity.    


Guido's actions and ideals hold true with the whole Putnam's "social capital" and "pay it forward" ideals. Throughout his life, he always did the right thing and was always kind and even though he himself did not reap the benefits, his wife and young son did.

This film is truly a modern classic; in forty years I have complete faith that “Life is Beautiful” will hold the same weight that “Casablanca” holds today. Many people think that the only films that will go down in history are from Hollywood’s “Golden Age” of the 1940’s, and decent movies hit their peak in the 1960’s and 70’s and it has been downhill since then. I wholeheartedly disagree.  Even though most films made in the past twenty-or-so years have been mindless fluff, there have been many truly remarkable movies with stunning originality and artistry (that are still very entertaining). “Life is Beautiful” is one of them. Don’t let the subtitles deter you, “Life is Beautiful” is definitely worth watching. More than once.