This is a journal entry for a class I am taking in theater, and not a strict review per se. The words are much more loose and free flowing. You have been warned.
One of the most surprising aspects of Modern Times was how thought provoking it was. Certainly, there was still great comedy involved, but intertwined with it were some harsh truths about the times the movie was made in, as well as some deep looks into the human condition. The scene in which the ìLittle Trampî character asks to stay in prison, for example, is laughable in its irony, but at the same time I found myself sympathizing. After all, if I saw what was going on in the world outside, Iíd probably opt for his nice ìcushyî cell as well. And I think you can still see that happening with prisoners today; so many of them have little or no support out in society that the easiest life for them to choose is often prison, where they have formed friendships, everything is structured for them, and they get all of their basic needs taken care of.
Modern Times is a great example of the silent comedy genre, though it certainly had a few moments where it broke the mold a bit. For example the scenes towards the beginning on the assembly line, where the manager of the company spoke to his employees through the view screens. Even then though, the interface of dialogue is always though some sort of mechanical means, like the view screens, the radio, and so on. There were occasional stills where the dialogue was printed for the audience to read, though not anywhere near as many as most other silent movies Iíve seen. AS the film was made in 1936, it seems appropriately transitional between the purely silent movies and the talkies.
There was a great deal of symbolism used in the presentation of this film. The cuts at the very beginning, with sheep being flocked followed by men flocking to work in the factories, told me right away what sort of theme I could expect for this movie. Throughout the entire film we see different aspects of manís quest for happiness, and how we so often get lost along the way in the very jobs and tasks we took to get to a point we once had in our minds as happiness. The job becomes the life, and what truly matters in life tend to become a fog in the back of oneís mind somewhere, still existent but difficult to make out anymore. By the end of the movie, the tramp and the gamin have figured out what happiness means to them, and seem to have a decent idea of how to pursue it together.
The application of the Production Code to this film is interesting. One of the general principles of the production code is ìNo picture shall be produced that will lower the moral standards of those who see it. Hence the sympathy of the audience should never be thrown to the side of crime, wrongdoing, evil or sin.î Well, in Modern Times I for one found myself clearly rooting for the side of ìcrime.î Of course, the criminal acts were actually being done to Charlie Chaplinís character by others, including the police. Still, when Chaplin is smoking cigars he hasnít paid for, eating food he hasnít paid for, and tries to get picked up by the police so he can go back to his nice prison life, he is clearly doing ìwrongî things, despite his reasoning. It seems like he is redeemed by helping the gamin, who was stealing bread so that she could eat, but this is still basically aiding a known criminal and withholding evidence. The whole scenario is at once amusing, endearing, and outright illegal, and walks a fine line depending on how you read into the Production Code. Another of the principles is similarly defied, ìLaw, natural or human, shall not be ridiculed, nor shall sympathy be created for its violation.î
Something I enjoyed about this film was the way it used its sets and locations. I noticed as I was watching Top Hat that in that movie, the camera is always focused and often fairly close to the main characters. In Modern Times, however, there is ample footage of just scenery, setting up the eventual shot of what a character was about to do. The main reason for this, I would venture, is that in Top Hat the focus of the film is the song and dance numbers, whereas the focus in Modern Times seemed to be to forward the notion of manís obsession with work, wealth, and power, and the loss of sight of things more simple and pure.
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