I came across a video
interview with Steven Spielberg some weeks ago. As the interviewer made it clear,
Spielberg´s filmography is
part of our collective memory. He has directed lots of films which are
completely different from one another and according to Spielberg, that´s what
characterizes his way of making films: diversity, that is, the fact that his
stories are very different. Nevertheless, there is a recurrent theme in those
stories: human relationships, for example, the relationship between parents and
children or the personal struggle of one man to defend his values. Of course,
he spoke about his last film Bridge of
Spies which is a story about one of those men who stands for what he
believes to be right. However, what caught my attention the most was the part
in which he explained that he loved watching films from the 1930s, 1940s or
1950s, in fact, he said that these days, comparatively, he watches more films
made in those decades than films made over the last five years. He made
reference to Billy Wilder, Fritz Lang or Ernest Lubitsch and he mentioned The Shop Around the Corner as a film
that he had watched lately. Spielberg´s interview made me think of this film
whose title is likely to ring a bell but at the same time, it may be unknown
for some people. The German film-maker Ernest Lubitsch directed this film in
1940 after having had a big success thanks to Ninotchka. The Shop Around
the Corner is usually described as one of the best comedies in the history
of cinema: it is a Hollywood film whose story is set in Budapest and has
Margaret Sullavan and James Stewart in the lead roles. (The plot of You´ve got Mail is said to be based on
the story of The Shop Around the Corner).
If you love comedies or especially romantic comedies or just old films, you´re
bound to enjoy The Shop Around the Corner.
This film is a classic and even if you aren´t fond of black and white films,
why don´t you give it a chance on Steven Spielberg´s recommendation? The film
is set at Christmastime and it deals with the story of the employees – and particularly
a couple – in a shop where customers buy Christmas presents, apparently a
simple story turned into one of the best romantic comedies but that´s the
greatness of good film-makers: creating memorable stories out of the lives of
ordinary people.
This Christmas, why don´t you go
to “the shop around the corner” to discover the gifts that are on display? I´m
sure you won´t regret it.
MERRY CHRISTMAS and VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
