OK film fans it looks as if I've had my first visit from the long, long arm of the Internet law (sort of). Fortunately for me I'm keeping my nose clean and respecting the powers that be. After all we've seen what RIAA will do to folks and I got enough problems as it is. Now since this is St. Patrick's Day and there aren't really any famous films about this holiday (Jennifer Aniston's Leprechaun notwithstanding) I'm going to skip to a classic film I like to watch every year once the green beer has subsided.
The Quiet Man is an epic romantic drama/comedy filled with sentimentality and sense of nostalgia only a master like John Ford could make convincingly. Filmed almost entirely on location in Ireland this tribute to Ford's ancestry and homeland won him an Oscar for Best Director and was also rewarded with an Oscar for Best Cinematography. Despite being known primarily for filming westerns in Monument Valley, both in black and white (Stagecoach, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance) and color (The Searchers), Ford actually won all of his directing Oscars for family oriented dramas.
Sean Thornton (John Wayne!) is an American returning to his home town of Innisfree with the intentions of settling down for good. Having left the town as a youth he wants to by his ancestral home so he can retire on the small farm in the beautiful, idyllic village. Despite the fact the current owner, the well off Widow Sarah Tillane, has no problems with this arrangement the original buyer, and her suitor, "Red" Will Danaher is rather put out by the idea. Red is the big man in town and he doesn't like this yank trying to take "his" land. To make matters worse the young woman that's caught Thornton's eye, Mary Kate (Maureen O'Hara), just happens to be Red's younger sister. Since her parents are deceased, he'll need Red's permission to court her. Of course, Red is still holding a grudge from the farm land incident and refuses permission, breaking his sister's heart.
However, Thornton has ingratiated himself with ease and the town folk like him both for his generous easy going personality and for getting the best of Red on the land deal. Since it seems Red has managed to belittle just about everyone in town they get together and hatch a plan to help Thornton and Mary Kate court. Inevitably there will need to be a showdown between the two, but Thornton has a secret in his past that prevents this from happening sooner rather than later.
Since I first saw this film I've been fascinated by Ford's effortless ability to be nostalgic without being corny. Every scene lingers lovingly on the costumes, buildings and faces of the town. We get breathtaking visuals and a glimpse at customs long forgotten in "modern" society. And of course there are also his iconic "frame within a frame" shots that capture the essence of a film, its key emotions, in a single beautiful picture (starting at 1:15). Sure it's a little quaint and the storytelling is a little formulaic, but it's tough to find a more heartfelt ode to a bygone era, one that was even looked back upon longingly in the 50s when this film was released. If ever there was a film that cries out for modern high definition TVs it's this one. You'll be hard pressed to see it on St' Paddy's Day and not long for a trip to the Emerald Isle.
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