It's A Wonderful Life!

It's A Wonderful Life is a Christmas movie if ever there was one. I have watched this film every year, and it's become a tradition with some people, I guess I'm one of them. This year, I asked myself, What's the reason I watch this, and what is there about the movie that keeps me connected? What's the real nitty-gritty behind the facade? Why did Frank Capra direct it?

If you're not familiar with Frank Capra, he was one of the greatest American directors working in Hollywood, from 1922 (still in the Silent Era) to 1946, and was responsible for some of the most iconic films during that period. In Wonderful Life, the main character, George Bailey, is up against a rock and a hard place. Instead of launching his dream to travel and freedom, he is forced by circumstances beyond his control to remain in the drab town he hates, to manage the affairs of a savings and loan bank, when panic hits and there's a run on the bank.

A lot of other stuff happens I won't go into, so long & short, George wants to jump off a bridge on a snowy night, but is saved by an angel, to whom he confesses that he wishes he'd never existed. The angel obliges and in a flash, there's no George Bailey, who soon discovers that not having an identity is so much worse than what he was going through that in the end he wishes himself back, and is soon in the warm, embracing company of his family on Christmas Eve.

Okay, there's a lot in the story I didn't mention because of space & time limitations, obviously, but the real kicker in this movie for me is how George's struggle that seemed so hopeless was nothing more than life hitting him in a way he didn't expect it to. So he didn't manage to fulfill his dream - at the time. But in the end, he does.

I think it was Zig Ziggler, a well-known motivator & speaker, who said: "You gotta stop for the red lights."

In case that needs interpretation, it means that whatever plans you have, if you don't include delays and setbacks, you'll never achieve success. You HAVE to stop at the traffic lights. Why? Because if you don't, you get run over!

I guess my point was that I identified with the character of George Bailey, as I'm sure anybody who has ever tried something new, or has been uncertain about the future, must have experienced at one time or another. That's why this is such a great movie. It says a lot about people - ordinary people, not the big shots (who are, incidentally, not portrayed well, which is one reason the FBI was looking for a communist conspiracy - if you can believe it!) who only want their lives to have meaning, through work or whatever means are offered them. They are the people, and that's also why Capra was such a great filmmaker.

I hope that makes sense.