I finally got around to watching City Lights from the AFI 100 list. It’s been sitting next to my TV for weeks now. Part of the problem I had is that it’s a pantomime movie, which means I need to pay absolute attention! That’s pretty difficult since I generally knit through movies. Movies with subtitles also are a problem for the same reason. But I was doing some basic knitting so I was able to pay fairly close attention to the flick.
I really liked this movie, despite the slow plot. I only say that because now in the 21st century, plot progression is leaps and bounds ahead of where this movie was. But despite that, I was blown away by the expressive nature of the acting. Obviously a very different artform than acting now due to the inability to talk. This required the actors to be beyond expressive to convey not only their emotions but parts of the script that weren’t prompted by plot cards. I also enjoyed watching Charlie Chaplin—what a character.
Overall, it was a very cute love story with a lot of comedy interweaved with the rest of the story.
This is my 85th AFI film. I only have 15 more to go.
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