For April’s Blind Spot, I chose Charlie Chaplin’s City Lights (1931). This is actually my first Chaplin movie I’ve seen full. I’ve known him to be the legend of the comedy, the root of all true comedians until today. I’ve even seen him in an adapted TV animated series. But there’s nothing more original than seeing the real icon on screen.
With only 87 minutes, Chaplin has successfully made me laughed by his comical actions and moved by his feelings towards a blind flower girl, not to forget his encouragement to a wealthy man who almost committed suicide. There aren’t any description what was Chaplin did for a living in the movie, but he was caught sleeping in a new city landmark statue, which means he’s homeless.
What made the movie amazing was Chaplin himself, though he looked like a joke but then he stop a man he doesn’t know from killing himself. When the drunken man comes to his ‘senses’, he automatically treats Chaplin as his friend. He takes him to his big house, though frowned upon by his butler. But later when he’s sober, he doesn’t recognize Chaplin at all. Ultimately it makes the story even funnier.
But the real essence beside Chaplin’s funny jokes (the joke that was used and inspired many other comedy today), was how changed he was around the flower girl. He met the girl on the street where she work. Played by Virginia Cherill, the blind girl radiates beauty and sincerity, even I can understand why Chaplin couldn’t take his mind off her. By a mistake, the girl thought Chaplin is a wealthy man, but Chaplin didn’t correct it since he wants that image. When both meet accidentally, it was pure luck that Chaplin was borrowing his wealthy friend’s car and money. By no time, the girl is telling her only relative, her grandmother, that there’s a wealthy man fancies her. The innocent girl’s heart continues to blossom. Chaplin’s love is tested when the flower girl drop sick and received a final warning to pay her house rent.
There are countless romantic dramedy today, but the one’s that stick still is the simple and yet touching ones. I still have to watch more by Chaplin, but City Lights was a delightful watch. Easy to watch, entertaining and doesn’t involve cynicism and offensive jokes. Silent movies counts on gestures and expressions, with minimum dialogue. With only just that, Chaplin expressed his kindness and sometimes reckless personality, and turned it into a pure comedy and romance. Maybe that was the reason why people love him until today. And perhaps the borderline was a man who aren’t taking himself seriously, until he met a girl he falls in love with.
His instant friendship with a wealthy man also a genuine act and a joyful thing to see, regardless from economy status and people’s judgement. Unfortunately and sad for Chaplin, it only happens when the wealthy man is drunk. But Chaplin was smart enough to take advantage to the situation, just for the sake of his image to the girl. What blocks him was the butler.
There are many funny performance of him in this movie, which made me instantly laugh. The funniest to me was him in the boxing rink and when he saves the wealthy man from suicide. Every once in a while, we need to see the true comedy to save us from the tired comedies today. When you need to, you can always see City Lights.
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