Day 20 - 01/20/2019

  To pull of a huge commercial success during The Great Depression and when silent films were becoming obsolete is no easy task, unless you're Charlie Chaplin. With arguably the best film of his career, Chaplin directs, writes and stars a comedy romance with a flow that tells a smooth and concise story.

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  The Little Tramp (Charlie Chaplin) goes about his own business until meeting a lovely flower seller (Virginia Cherrill), which he later discovers is also blind. Going on with his day, he later tumbles into an Eccentric Millionaire (Harry Myers) that is about to put an end to his life. Aiding and trying to stop the man from such doings, the Little Tramp befriends him and continues to wonder about the Blind Girl. 

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  The story is simple and told day by day, a step at a time. This is perhaps what most contributes towards the heartwarming and fresh progression of every new scene, giving a transparent feel to our main characters. It also teaches how these simple actions, motivated by the desire of helping someone you love, can be made in the matter of days, especially when breaking the mundanities of everyday life. Behind the Tramp's funny actions, the character is moved by his desire to help, even when only appreciated by the girl who can't see or the man when he's not sober. Lastly, a review of City of Lights can't be made unless mentioning the last scene, perhaps one of the most beautiful of all time, bringing an end to this timeless classic. 

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  Watching Chaplin is always a ride. In most cases a great one, but when analyzing, the comedy scenes don't do much to help the story. For example, though well executed, the boxing and party scenes could've been substituted by any other activity, in which the comedy is done for comedy's sake, not bringing the plot forward or being connected to other scenes in a direct way. 

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  As a strong believer that not everything evolves positively with time, especially when talking about culture, City of Lights helps my claim and brings a certain heartache to the old era of silent films, worthy of 8.0 stones out of 10.