They Shoot Horses Don't They?-1969
'The way she's throwing it around, her feet will last longer then her rear end.'
Depression era marathon dance competition with dozens of couples vying for the first prize of $1,500 in silver dollars. Gloria (Jane Fonda) loses her partner before the competition begins for health reasons. In steps Robert (Michael Sarrazin) who just happened to be there, without intending to enter the contest. It's a grueling test of stamina that will go on for weeks as one by one couples exit. Jane is excellent as the sarcastic & pretty miserable, driven, wannabe actress. Michael is the laid back drifter. There are a number of interesting characters among the contestants including Red Buttons as the sailor, Susannah York, Bruce Dern and Bonnie Bedalia as the expectant mother. Gig Young as the MC won the supporting actor award. For the most part it's a great film, the ending though took some of the shine off for me. Like some of the other films made around this time, they were starting to get far away from the 'Hollywood' endings of the past.
The genesis of the film getting made is interesting. MGM had purchased the novel the film is based on in 1935 intending to star Clark Gable and Jean Harlow but then she sadly passed away. Charlie Chaplin bought the rights in the early 1950's and intended to star a relative unknown at the time named Marilyn Monroe but he went to make
Limelight in England and ended up leaving Hollywood for good. The rights were acquired again in the mid 1960's and the film was to star Faye Dunaway. William Friedkin as director was someone else in the mix at one point. Guess the efforts were worthwhile in the end as the film was nominated for 9 Academy Awards, although Gig Young was the only winner.
One Wonderful Sunday-1947 (subtitles)
A very basic story of a young couple having a date on a Sunday, their rest day from their jobs. When he realizes that they have little money between them, Yuzo, the young man, suggests calling off the date. Masako, his fiancee, however believes they will be able to find interesting ways to spend their day. This sets up the contrast between them, Uzo is depressed about his lot in life. Instead of being able to get married, he has to live with a friend, while she is living with her sister. Masako is a fountain of positivity, she looks for the silver lining of his dark clouds. The two leads are excellent (Isao Numazaki & Chieko Nakakita), as they pass their day, sometimes finding joy like at the zoo, sometimes disappointment. What would an Akira Kurosawa film be without a nice heavy downpour? There are some slow moments but the film struck a chord for me, of one of those youthful dates where you have to find or make your own entertainment. A lesser known Kurosawa film that I really enjoyed.
The Candidate-1972
Young Bill McKay (Robert Redford) is talked into opposing a popular incumbent senator in California. He tries to bring a fresh, positive approach to his campaign. The story goes behind the scenes to show the strategy and manoevering to attempt to get that all important traction in the polls. Redford is convincing as the idealist looking to bring new ideas and hope to the position. Don Porter (as Senator Crocker Jarmon) is very good too as the man folks can count on and who has got things done in Washington in the past. There's a short cameo from Natalie Wood playing herself. Interesting that the issues of then seem much the same today, although the two opponents weren't quite as nasty to each other here as we often see now. Well done, pretty realistic film.
The Father-2020
The care and suffering of folks when an elderly person begins to have serious memory issues. The challenges & frustrations for family members when someone they have relied on their whole life requires extensive care all the time. It's well done and Anthony Hopkins as the father is brilliant as he usually is, a painful film to watch though. Googling some current estimates : 1 in 9 people at age 65 have some form of dementia or Alzheimers. at age 75 1 in 6 and 1 in 3 around age 85. So it's a scenario many families will be faced with at some point. The shifting perceptions of Anthony are challenging to follow at times, although that was probably one of the goals of the film. I.e. to put the viewer close to what life is really like for someone like the father.
