Film Review: City Lights

City Lights (Charlie Chaplin, 1931)

The movie is riddled with moments of slapstick and melodrama; at times scenes are bawdy. But even the pathos of some crucial scenes doesn’t make City Lights less than a great film. I was absorbed completely into this film (as I was watching it) and it was impossible not to cry (particularly with that unforgettable final scene). Now I can relate to Jeff Bridges - his eyes almost swelled while holding back tears as he was relating, in a recorded interview, his experience watching the film.

Now I’m really having second thoughts if The Artist (2011 Best Picture, Academy Awards) really deserved to win the top prize. Like City Lights (Charlie Chaplin, 1931), The Artist (Michel Hazanavicius) is a silent film. But, in my opinion, City Lights is hundred times better than The Artist, and it didn’t win any awards. Now I realize that The Artist was overhyped (or overrated). There were other films last year which deserved the award (not The Artist).

The story is simple: The Tramp has befriended suicidal wealthy man who doesn’t see him as he is. Then he falls in love with a blind woman who sells flowers (of course she doesn’t see him). He’ll struggle to help her.

Rating: 4.0/4.0