Ok, this is
one of those films I really struggle to review. My instincts tell me this is
not a film for everyone and to try and record it accordingly. My heart tells me
one would have to be both blind and deaf not to watch the film and fall in love
with it on the spot. This film has a double significance – as it were. Not only
is it one of the cinematically most important films around it is, in my
opinion, one of those expressive, sensitive films that warms you to the cockles
of your heart. And it’s chock-full of rather dark absurd comedy. So… Yeah, you
see why I say it may not be for everyone. But then again, you kinda know my
taste in films by now. If you reckon it’s parallel to mine, I say definitely go
for it. It’s a good ‘un. It’s a classic for a reason – no questions about that.
Well, we
all need to have our hobbies in this life. Harold’s hobby is committing
suicide. That and going to funerals. In his hearse. His mother told him he
could have any car he wanted, they are not a badly off family so she had meant a
Jaguar or a Mercedes. Harold, however, wanted a hearse. His mother does
anything and everything to drag Harold back to normality; therapy, marriage,
the army… But even with this no-holds barred approach, nothing seems to work
and Harold refuses to follow her example. 79 year-old Maude, however, is a
completely different story. You see, the thing about having hobbies is that
they also permit you to meet like-minded people and Maude is just such a
person. Although, her eccentricity is at such a level that even our friend
Harold is slightly taken aback. Maude is, in a way, the mother-figure Harold
never had in a random funeral attending, car stealing and nude posing sort of
way… This is a story that proves that love
is something that bypasses minor issues like age and gender – and unites… But
also has very, very unexpected consequences.
Ok, I am
not going to actually make a list of all the parallels I drew with films today
as I watched this one. First of all, it would spoil it for all of you who, like
me, enjoy that kind of “treasure hunting”. Secondly, it would just make the
post far too long. Even by my rather verbose standards. But, just as a small
example, the going to random funerals thing. Ok, so, Harold and Maude like
going to funerals. Not the funerals of anyone they know. Just, any funerals
that happen to be going that day. Who does that remind you of? Mayhaps a
certain narrator, played by Edward Norton, who visited support groups for a
plethora of ailments he didn’t have and then met a woman who had the same hobby
as him (played by Helena Bonham-Carter) ? Yes, I AM talking about Fight Club.
And that’s just the start of a rather long list of prestigious movies. I mean,
it’s worth a check-out for that alone. And please don’t get upset just because
Fight Club appears to have got part of its inspiration from some other film.
That’s what life – not to mention creative industries – are all about. Constant
creative cross-inspiration. Finding stuff like this is like tracing a family
tree. And it’s fun. Movie geeks like me will understand.
But then of
course, I do implore you, do watch the film in its own right too. It is an
absolute treasure trove for those, like me, who particularly enjoy dark comedy
and absurd comedy in particular. But it isn’t just a joy-ride. Oh no. There are a lot of serious issues; and genuine emotion in this little number too. And all tightly yet exquisitely packed into
around 90 minutes of film, unlike the 2 hour + sagas of today that are very,
very pretty to look at but barely manage to pack half the content into
themselves… Goodness, I didn’t really see myself turning into an old fogey
complaining that “things” were better in the “good old days” but hey… In this
instance, I may well be right, I’m not quite sure… Anyway. You guys watch Harold and Maude and
then we can discuss all that later…
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