Modern Times, 1936

This was my first Charlie Chaplin film. Granted, I'm not sure if it was the best place to start, but, I don't regret starting here. Chaplin has an odd ability among actors, the ability to make an audience smile and laugh. Even when he doesn't appear to be trying to, Chaplin can, and will, put a big goofy grin on your face. I say it's odd for this reason: We're not laughing AT him, we're laughing for him. With him. We want him and the girl to get married, to have a happy life together. They need each other, and we, as the audience, need them to need each other. I think it's odd indeed that we can feel so deeply for a man who never speaks. It's odd and wonderful. Now onto the actual subject of the movie. What Chaplin does with the story is beyond brilliant. The Little Tramp lives in a world of whirring gears and blaring buzzers; a world where the only sounds are those of electronics. Machines are taking over and the Tramp has to deal with it. Then, in the final act of the film, the Tramp gives in, he enters this new world, he becomes a part of it even: He speaks. But it's like your grandfather trying to use a computer for the first time, it's a mess; his "speaking" ends up being a mess of gibberish, words from different languages thrown together randomly to form some strange, beautiful sounding poem. But, like your grandfather trying to use a computer, just at the end he turns back to the old ways: Pantomime and intertitles. He can't give himself over entirely; maybe next time, but not this time. Next time, yeah, yeah, next time. It's a beautiful film about technology and humanity; love and hope.

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