Summa This, Summa That
I’ll be honest. Whenever someone asks me for a list of thematically-appropriate movies for The Fourth, my affection for one particular film shoulders aside any and all candidates that might otherwise have come to mind. Is that fair? Probably not. But I don’t really care. Because while it’s been hard to find online at times, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is currently streaming on NETFLIX INSTANT.
In Frank Capra’s classic, junior senator Jefferson Smith remains idealistic despite widespread corruption among his cynical colleagues in Washington.
There is little to say about this film that has not already been said, and I’m not qualified to speak at length (or with any authority) on its charms, other than to say that I love the way it combines such youthful, enthusiastic optimism with its stirring, prodding call to action. Much as I’m tempted to pat its head condescendingly while smirking at its starry-eyed ideals, I can never quite escape that still, small voice reminding me that its idealism is something to be sought after and emulated, not pushed aside as unrealistic or unattainable.
If you are interested in someone properly qualified to speak at length, however, I can suggest no one better than Matt Singer, whose fantastic piece on the way Capra’s film works visually — “In Mr. Smith Goes To Washington, Frank Capra stood up for a simple American hero” — was my favorite part of an intriguing “Movie of the Week” conversation over at The Dissolve.
Attribution(s): All posters, publicity images, and movie stills are the property of Columbia/Sony Pictures and other respective production studios and distributors, and are intended for editorial use only.
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