Silence sometimes speaks louder than words. In noisy times like ours, it is silence which creates the most noise!
Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin knew this way before others. And helping him in his silent movie endeavors was the era of silent films. They didn’t speak a word then, but they communicated a lot more than we do these days because situations create emotions and we equate emotions with sounds! His movies are always a source of inspiration for many of our students specially those who take admission in our Diploma in Visual Effects and Film Making courses.
One of his greatest classics, the silent comedy movie “City Lights” still lights up people’s lives even today- a full 87 years after it was released! It is said that by then i.e. 1931, sound and dialogues started to appear in films but Charlie Chaplin was adamant he did not want the same for this feature. And boy it worked wonders!
Looking back, it may seem like the story of a time when there still was innocence in the air around us; when cell-phones and gadgets did not occupy the entire waking hours of us humans, when before buying anything, we seemed to reflect how deep our pockets were and to the depth the seller had gone to bring the product to us. Yes, those were slower times when digital watches weren’t around but time still passed by fairly well.
About the story, it’s about the infatuation/ love of the Tramp (who else in a Charlie Chaplin movie!) to a blind flower-seller girl. He was always is on the road doing odd jobs to keep himself aloft. With a heart full of gold, his pockets, unfortunately, are just as empty. Never-the-less, he tries in his own super-sweet, super-innocent and super-emotional ways to make a difference. Life seems to support the tramp in his mission to bring the gift of sight to the hapless flower-seller girl when he meets a drunk millionaire who is about to commit suicide. He too is a regular with the blind-girl for flowers. Drunk, he becomes a large-hearted benefactor. Sane, he doesn’t remember a thing. His extremes bring in the essential comic relief. And is also the reason the tramp ends up behind bars once too often! The tramp’s attempts to make money doing odd-jobs come to a naught and he has finally to depend upon the Drunk (in the right mood to relent!). He does get the money but not before his share of crazy capers including an attempted robbery. Behind bars, he finds it hard to explain how he got the money. Add to that the Drunk millionaire who doesn’t remember a thing of having given it to the tramp!
The money finally reaches the blind flower-seller girl. And not before the Tramp is arrested for robbery! By the time he is released, she has her sight restored- but doesn’t recognize him! How she finally does, is the stuff of sheer brilliant story-telling, and needs only to be seen to understood and appreciated!
If you are a student of Visual Effects Course or studying Film Making in Pune, be informed that Veda College Pune is holding a special screening of this awesome silent-era movie at Hi-Tech Hall, Azam Campus on 23 Nov 2018 .
Be there and see the power of silence being spoken and how love transcends everything!