One of three
I've got more Christmas shopping to do this weekend, which means braving the streets of London again. It's not something I'm particularly fond of in general, but it's elevated to a higher form of torture come December time. But I'm not going to let it get me down. Rather I plan on getting it out of the way early tomorrow and then coming home to vegetate. I'll turn on the tv, sit myself in my ever so comfortable papasan, drape myself in a duvet and then watch a good film, the choice of which is simple.
It may not hold much of a surprise for anyone to discover that my dvd collection, such as it is, is filled with a high proportion of feel good films. Movies in which lessons are learned, obstacles are overcome, love is lost and found again, and the afters are ever happy. There are admittedly many different choices, but for this sort of occassion there are three films that I come back to time and time again. They were each released in nineteen ninety 3 and I saw each of them then. Perhaps it's just that they are good films or it may be because my memories of that year are especially precious that I treasure them so.
The first is in the extended entry. I'll post the others up as and when I feel like doing so. You're free to speculate as to what the remaining films may be
And the first film is...
Dave.
I know that it's a complete fantasy and probably as poor a reflection of actual politics in action as you're likely to find, but I don't care - I can't think of a better antidote to political cynicism than this film. Everywhere we look, in real life and in fiction, we're never far away from the notion that power corrupts (and absolutle power yadda yadda...). It's almost taken to be a truism, which is incredibly sad when you stop and think about it. I certainly hope that it isn't and "Dave" is a charming exploration of the opposite notion - that power can be wielded effectively by the good. It may be a simplistic viewpoint, but it's one that holds a lot of appeal for me.
There are many moments in this film that raise a smile, but chief amongst them is the saving of the orphanage, where Dave sits down with his cabinet and meticulously trims $600 millions off the federal budget to provide the funds to save the orphanage program. Not only does the scene itself warm the cockles of the hardest of hearts, but it provides Frank Langella's character with one of the best lines in the film, vented with murderous fury:
"I'm going to kill him!"Well, I laughed."You can't a president."
"He's not a president, he's an ordinary person. I can kill an ordinary person."
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You may be surprised to hear that Dave is one of my favourite films too. But then I have a secret weakness for "The West Wing". It is politics as I would like it to be.
I think I know what the other two are: or rather, I know what I hope they'll be. I look forward to finding out ... and why are your memories of that year especially precious? Or is that rather too personal a question?