Mystery Movie Review

Last night, I was bored, and so I went out into the lobby and turned on the TV. “Who knows?” was my line of thinking. “Maybe there’s something good on.” It was about 8:05 PM, and I was almost despairing that I would find something worthwhile to do that night.

Well, I was flipping through the channels when something on channel 11 (KBYU) caught my eye. It was a black and white movie which I had never seen before. It was about three veterans coming home from World War II, all from the same town. One is an ordinary seaman from the navy, one is a sergeant from the army, and the last is a captain from the air force. They have a long flight home together on a B-17, and get to know each other very well. The ordinary seaman is the most striking at this point, because you discover right off that he has no hands—just prosthetic hooks. However, you quickly learn that he is amazingly adept with those hooks: he can take a cigarette from his pocket, light a match, and light that same cigarette—just with those hooks. We also learn that this sailor has a girl waiting for him at home, and he’s worried. Meanwhile, the sergeant, we discover, has been married for twenty-some years, while the captain was married about a week before he left—three years ago. Each of these men has not seen their families for more than two and a half years.

At this point, I was just trying to figure out what was happening. I had absolutely no idea what was going to happen for the rest of the movie.

Since this was an old, black and white movie, I guess I was expecting it to be sentimental and so-forth, with perfect families welcoming home returning heroes and whatnot. How wrong was I.

First off, when the sailor (who’s name is Homer) gets home, things get off on a bad start immediately. His family joyfully welcomes him, but instead of acknowledging his hooks, they just try to ignore them as if he was still perfectly normal. They do this to try and help him, but it has the opposite effect, making him depressed and sullen.

Next, when the sergeant (named Al) gets home, we discover that he is a rich banker, with two grown children (well, the boy is about 17, the girl, Peggy, is probably 20). He has been gone for four full years, and so his family has changed a lot, and he feels awkward.

Last, the captain, the only officer of the three, named Fred, gets home and we discover that he comes from a poor family, while his wife, whom he married like a week before he left, has gone and gotten a job at a nightclub. He isn’t even able to find her for another day or two.

Basically, these three men come home and their lives stink royally. I was amazed. What sort of a movie was this? It was like… completely realistic! How could it ever end?

Well, it ended all right—three hours after it started. And remember, this was on PBS—there were no advertisements. Without nary a single bit of action, this movie had suspense so thick you could cut it with a knife. I cared so much about the three main characters, every little setback was a blow to my heart, while at every success, my heart soared. It was incredible.

What I also found to be extraordinary was how against-the-mold this movie was: in many movies, there is a lot of dramatic tension simply because characters won’t speak honestly with each other—if they would simply communicate properly, all their problems would be resolved. However, in this movie, the characters DO communicate with each other, and not about easy things to talk about either. And additionally, when Al and Fred have a dispute, they actually talk it over. And when Al asks Fred to do something (very difficult), Fred does it because he respects Al and does not want to lose his trust. IT’S AMAZING!!! This simply doesn’t happen in movies these days!! (Well, except in “Bridge to Terabithea,” but the things they communicate about in this movie are a lot more difficult to talk about—believe me) And additionally, the men hold themselves as men—with a responsibility to bridal their passions. And when Al gets drunk and a little overbearing, his wife takes it in stride, helps him home, and forgives him. It is amazing!!! This movie acknowledges that love isn’t the only thing that keeps a marriage together—it is commitment on both sides, with forgiveness and compromise!

This movie won the 1947 Oscar for Best Picture—over “It’s a Wonderful Life.” However, I’m not going to say it’s a better picture than Frank Capra’s masterpiece—it’s too different a movie, too difficult to compare. However, if I was Frank Capra, I would be honored to have my picture lose out to such a great movie—it’s better than most of the Best Picture winners over the year.

What’s the name of this movie? "The Best Years of Our Lives"!! Yes, it is three hours long, but it’s amazing! Really, get it and see it tonight if you can!