Brief Encounter
What with being snowed under with work, it being miserable hayfever season and having bought way too much new music recently, I’ve been rather lax on the blogging front compared to usual.
But last night I saw ‘classic British film’ Brief Encounter (David Lean, 1945) and it has completely inspired me. I’d never seen Brief Encounter before and what a fantastic film it is! I was completely transfixed throughout.
The trusty film notes provided by BFI Southbank where I saw the film, tell me that Brief Encounter is ‘quintessentially British’ in its depiction of restraint. I really don’t understand this in the slightest. I know that the cliche says that ‘the British’ are the very epitome of restraint and are reserved and polite, stiff upper lip and all that (except on a hot day after a few pints of Stella), but really…?
I read the film, where two married people meet, fall in love and have a 4 week affair, as the classic struggle between individual desire and family obligation. Showing emotional restraint area in this area is hardly unique and particularly not in 1945. I was actually suprised that the couple were so unrestrained in seeing each other in public places - I’d constantly be terrified of being seen (as they indeed were).
No for me, the most moving (and British) thing about Brief Encounter was its combination of realism and romanticism. Two ordinary people, in ordinary relationships, doing ordinary things in an ordinary town suddenly find each other and fall in passionately in love. So I wasn’t struck by the infamous British ‘restraint’ but by the crushing reality of their boring lives and the fact that thousands and thousands of people have sat there watching this film since 1945 wishing to God that it could happen to them.
June 25th, 2008 at 12:10 pm
god you’re lucky fancy not seeing BE and then seeing it for the first time on the big screen! It is a great film not sure you can have a love story without some repression. I do like the day to day stuff as well.
I heard celia johnson daughter interviewed the other day and it put pay to the old chestnut that people don’t talk like that now a days as her daughter sounded quite like her mum. It also satisfies my campaign for having normal people in love storys.
ps. I prefer Lean when his pared down and well lean
June 25th, 2008 at 1:27 pm
BLTP - I am a bit of a film snob, so of course I had to see it on the big screen. If someone made a film for 35mm you should watch it that way.
People do definitely talk like Celia Johnson these days. We have a new person at work who is in their 20s and actually said ‘how do you do?’ when we were introduced. I had to stop myself from grinning delightedly to myself at this - it was so much like being in a 40s film.
Have you seen ‘The Passionate Friends’? It looks pretty good.
June 25th, 2008 at 1:56 pm
with you on the big screen rarely watch films at home. Passionate friends does sound good a short of companion piece to BE. Am off to see “In which we serve tonight” (this may be a boy thing I know)
June 25th, 2008 at 2:06 pm
Mmm, think I’ll miss that one (despite the appearance of Noel Coward I believe). On an entirely different note, I’m off to see Killer of Sheep tomorrow. Not sure what to expect. But hey, I might as well hand over even more of my cash to the NFT.
June 30th, 2008 at 9:49 pm
Oh my. To see ‘Brief Encounter’ for the first time - what bliss.
And THERE’S a soundtrack to add to the list.