It's a Wonderful Life
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It's a Wonderful Life 1946

★★★★★

Watched 20 May 2020

setting aside the obvious that this is in strict film making terms a masterpiece, i admit to feeling a ghost of skepticism about its ending. on one hand i find the haughty "realist" "cynic" response to scoffing at anything remotely like a happy ending more and more disgusting as i get older, but the townspeople coming together to raise the money Jimmy Stewart needs rung a bit false as much as it was emotionally effective. what if it had ended with him being handcuffed and led into the cop car in a state of manic jubilation? what if it had let itself be a tragedy as its first 90 minutes demands? the book of job already had the courage to admit that in this world a good person can have their world fall apart, can experience the heights of despair, and lays no obvious justification for it, and to this day Christians must wrestle with it. surely a good Christian film could have as much courage? still, so much of this is just so haunting. though i'd claim to have never seen this before now, every minute of it felt inscribed in me as much as it would have if it were a family tradition throughout childhood to watch it every Christmas.

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