The truest meaning of Christmas....

Rating: 10/10 (24 December 2007)

"It's a Wonderful Life" epitomizes the true meaning of Christmas. Hope, understanding, forgiveness, friendship and sharing, all of the attributes we strive to achieve the whole year through, though somehow they manage to elude most of us. However, we come closest to being all the best we can be, at least once each and every year, at Christmas time. Frank Capra struck a chord, I would hope, in every cynic, miser, curmudgeon and Scrooge among us, when this film originally made its debut in 1946. The war was finally over, those who were lucky enough to be coming home were home, and the world was struggling to get back some semblance of the joy and peace in life, much the way things were in a prewar America. Although the innocence of that generation was gone forever, great movies like "It's a Wonderful Life" helped to restore some faith in mankind, as well as joy in some of the simple pleasures in life. Films like this one are milestones in history and a credit to humanity itself.
There are a few films of this type that come to mind which epitomize the nature of the unselfish heart and giving spirit: "The Bishop's Wife", "Scrooge-A Christmas Carol, 1951", "The Bells of St Mary's", and "Going My Way" to name a few, there are others, but these along with this film sticks in my mind as being the paradigm of hope, generosity and the truest nature of the Christmas spirit. These films are precious, their stories immortal, their moral lessons invaluable, and the genius behind these films are, sadly, of a bygone era. Hollywood "broke-the-mold" with these productions offering us wholesome family fun, genuine entertainment bearing an endearing notion while teaching a valuable moral lesson. It is this type of film that truly makes the "Holidays" fun. Bravo! A perfect *10*