Jimmy Stewart is God...

Rating: 10/10 (13 August 2003)

What a film. I came to this film late partly, I guess, because I was under the impression it was OTT Hollywood schmaltz - the "Happy Christmas everybody!" running through the streets is the bit they always show. But the way George's life unravels and his ambitions are thwarted at every turn breaks my heart everytime. The speech (which Stewart did in one take) in which he shouts "I don't want plastics!" gets me crying (a bit) every time.
First time I saw this movie was at the Hyde Park cinema in Leeds, England (Gawd bless it) and I was blown away. I came out into the afternoon sunshine in an amazing mood - full of the joys of life - and bumped into some friends who had been fellow volunteers during a short stint I spent working with Bosnian Muslim refugees from the then on-going war in former Yugoslavia. The film: Welcome to Sarajevo. I decided to acompany them.
Two hours of reliving bad memories and being reminded of the truly horrific stuff that I was lucky enough not to see saw my euphoric mood in tatters.
The most bizarre double-bill ever. The SHOWING TODAY board outside the cinema might as well have read "It's a Wonderful Life" and then, underneath, "Oh no it isn't".
Still, thank God for Jimmy Stewart.