Are there cringe moments? Hell yes
Has it aged perfectly? No.
Is it still a banger
Hell yes. The ending remains truly sublime and while a perfect film would have potter in the gulag, the movie nevertheless, for a moment, imagined a socialism.
I cry every time.
i know this is very random sorry for the necro but i stumbled upon this post while searching for something else and it made me cry because this was my late (birth) father’s favorite movie. it was for a different reason ofc but it’s making me cry that a (somewhat at least) socialist message resonated with his troubled soul. just wanted to say thanks, i guess
Hey, no worries. I think that the movie really is a marvel in the way it imagines the fundamental human condition - the individual and the community - in this amazing way despite the obvious Christian stuff.
Nothing more sublime than Donna Reed’s breathless “They’re coming George!” The finale of the movie is really something special. Your late father had good taste. It’s a humanist (in the best sense) masterpiece.
I might write more next year but when I post about it I’m usually fairly drunk and weepy.