Thursday Movie Picks-Breakups

My hubby had his operation last Thursday on his right shoulder, laparoscopic surgery that went on for 3 hours, double the time but it was a success. Of course, my brother, who drove us up since I am too dizzy to drive that far, made a good point that what else are they supposed to say...”Oh that was horrible and the operation sucked!” Hahahaaa. my brother is right but, despite the bad pain, hubby is slowly getting better with some good pain meds and lots of rest. He will soon start physio which will be 4 months worth. We will find out why it took double the time Sept. 30th and I am having my biopsy this Friday so...fingers crossed.

Now, this week over at Wandering Through The Shelves it is all about break ups. We have all been there and, if not, you are one of the lucky few. Breakups simply suck but, when they make them into movies, they become something we often will watch with much crying and/or laughing. Here are my 3...

1. SUNRISE-1927

Yeah, this is an oldie, well, for many of you, maybe an ancient one, but it is gold. It’s directed by the great F. W. Murnau, famous for “Nosferatu” who created a moody, gothic masterpiece about good vs evil in the form of  2 women, the pious, angelic country wife of the man and his mistress, the evil city gal who does a mean shimmy. It’s also about the good and evil within each of us. It’s a study on this bastard, um, I mean, married man bored with his wife, his life and he feels he is in much strife. He’s having an affair with a wild, crazy gal from the city who wants him to murder his lovely wife and go with her to the city. The man does not realize that his wife has caught on and escapes which is when he realizes what a moron he has been. It sounds pretty basic but it’s anything but and strangely, gives an excellent portrayal of marriage in the darker forms. Janet Gaynor plays the wife and she won the first best actress Oscar for this role along with Seventh Heaven and Street Angel (yup all 3 for an Oscar. the last 2 were with her oft film partner Charles Farrell).

2. DODSWORTH-1936

I love this film because it is an honest portrayal of a long marriage going down the tubes. A long married couple, very wealthy, take a ship to travel to Europe and tour the continent. On the voyage, we see his wife engage in some flirtations while he meets a very nice divorcee. Once on mainland Europe, they realize they have grown into 2 very different people and no longer have anything in common. She asks for a divorce and he goes back home while she entertains a nice young man. Remember, this is 1936, the Hays Code is in full effect but this film shows middle aged people who are unhappy in their  marriage, the wife going with a much younger man and a divorcee who is not a bitch. An excellent film about an unhappy marriage that is not filmed with 20 somethings looking chic.

3. THE WAY WE WERE-1971

Yes, this is a romance film that is not my favourite genre and this is not one of my favourite films, to be honest, but it just suits this week’s theme so well. It stars Barbra Streisand as a leftist, strong thinking woman who meets a Waspish, conservative Robert Redford while in college. They meet again when WW2 is on and Robbie looks divine in his uniform. Babs thinks he is the bee’s knees and they soon are an item and marry. Unfortunately, they are very different in their outlook in life in every way possible which does not help their marriage. It is well acted but .....ughhh...I just find this genre boring. The song is great and RR looks great but what do I care when it’s all romance. It’s just like Love Story and The Notebook (minus James Garner and Gena Rowlands who saved that flick), boy meets girl, they banter, they screw, they break up, blah, blah, blah...😁

Which 3 films would you choose?