A working class tale

Rating: 9/10 (7 August 2010)

I must definitely write a review about Saturday Night Fever. This film was the talk of the town in my teen years. Right after the release I saw the film once, together with a school mate, in the neighboring city. There was no cinema in our village, and our film journeys invariably transformed into a pleasant evening out. The usually preferred menu were James Bond films, but that time SNF was a must. We enjoyed ourselves. It has everything you could wish for. Music of a proved band. A new style of dancing that we could imitate (how little were our talents in this regard). Even sex. Enough chances for identification and enough stupidity to maintain a feeling of superiority. The guy who made a girl pregnant, but took aversion to marrying her and fell into a state of contempt of death. There are real character moments when Tony lacks power: Tony begging his boss to get advanced money. Or Tony, although among equals of a cool attitude, getting slapped by his parents and whining. About 25 years later I recorded the film on video, and watched him some seven times, at short time intervals. At first it was just nostalgia, a reminiscence of the good old times that are lost forever. Then it was the film itself: lots of movement and fun and actions. My involvement with SNF finished with an analysis of the intriguing relation between Tony and his new dance partner, and a dissemination of the dialogs (what do they say and why?). The characters are certainly credible and well-played. It seems to me that the film comes close to a working class tale and a criticism of American society: the apathy, lack of education, the brutal surroundings, the struggle for mental survival, and of course the desire to get out. It is essentially a good-natured film, which still portrayed some hope in the aftermath of flower power. The right film at the right time.