Just one of the greatest movies ever made. I don't say that from some academic standpoint that chooses to blindly agree with the popular opinion that has been surrounding this film for so long. I say that because I also think this and really love watching this movie.

It's kind of amazing how fast this movie moves. The film is over two hours long and feels like a quick 80 minute picture that we are used to from that time period. Heck, the entire first hour of the film is all the flashback stuff that is told to Clarence before he goes to help George! Whenever I watch this movie, it feels like it's maybe fifteen minutes of screen time. Each scene is clear and concise as to its intent and purpose. Each scene binds to the next in a purely thematic capacity that allows us to see George's life and doesn't need anything more to be successful.

Then, once we get to the present day, and the main point of the film, it feels like two or three more fifteen minute segments. It's crazy how fast this movie goes through everything and how effective it is in its economy. This makes the film instantly comfortable and familiar and where the film gets its power. We feel as if we know George, we might even feel as if we are George. The story is very personal and without gross exaggeration. George Bailey never had a hard life. It just wasn't what he wanted. That's most of us, right? We wanted more, we tried for more, but what we got isn't the worst (of course for some it is worse. For some, life is literal Hell. Let's not stray and quibble over semantics.)

One argument against the film would be that the film lobbies for complacency. That we should just be happy with what we have and quit bitching about what we wanted. I disagree but that is an easy reading to understand. It boils down to a mantra I've had for many years. I may hate portions of my life, things may be shitty, but there's some aspect somewhere in my life that makes my life wonderful. If I had a time machine to go back and make different decisions so that I could get what I wanted, I would use it. I don't want to lose what makes my life truly wonderful. I just have to try and make the future better, that's all. The plot in this film is that George simply wishes he was never born. That's a more extreme example of my mantra but it shows just how down George has gotten. I'm sure a lot of us have felt that same sentiment at one point or another. It's common to do so; I know I have.

This film is sad, bittersweet, brutal, and yet joyful. It's extremely life affirming and one of those masterpieces of cinema that has real power to affect its audience. Sure the whole thing about how the angel is first shown is incredible stupid by today's standards, even I laugh at the blinking dots painted on a black screen. It's a product of its time in that respect. But then there's Jimmy Stewart. He is my favorite actor from this entire generation of film. He acts his ass off in this movie and is the reason this film is so effective. The direction and cinematography are also top notch and really bring out the best in every scene. These things together make for some of the best film-making you're likely to see. I also love the way the movie ends. It's a happy ending but there's no flip-side to that coin. Happy endings do not come at the demise of the opposition. Sometimes the wrong in the world continues on, but that doesn't stop happy endings.