Out of the bosom of the air;
Out of the cloud folds of her garments shaken;
Over the woodlands brown and bare,
Over the harvest fields forsaken,
Silent and soft and slow
Descends the snow.
-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
We had our first snowfall of the season this past week. It rained the following day and washed all the snow away, but it was pretty while it lasted. Snowflakes Out of the bosom of the air; Out of the cloud folds of her garments shaken; Over the woodlands brown and bare, Over the harvest fields forsaken, Silent and soft and slow Descends the snow. -Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Related Posts:
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I've already discussed the difficulty that Al has settling back into his job at the bank, trying to bridge the gap between the returning veterans and the executives who talk a good game about helping them but are clueless about what that would actually entail. We also see him struggle to reintegrate with his family; his children have grown and gotten used to doing without him. He's especially unnerved by the fact that his daughter Peggy is working and independent- and capable of coolly planning to break up someone's marriage. And I certainly don't blame him for being upset about that. It's concerning that Al increasingly turns to alcohol to deal with his frustration and discomfort. Fortunately, his wife- superbly played by Myrna Loy- is sensible, loving, and patient, so we have every hope that with her support he'll eventually settle back into his life and pull himself out of the bottle. Fred, on the other hand, does not have a supporting wife to see him through his troubles. In a classic case of marrying in haste and repenting at leisure, Fred got hitched to Marie right before going to war, then left her with his parents while overseas. She soon vacated the premises and got an apartment for herself, as well as a job at a night club. While I don't fault her for not wanting to live with in-laws she barely knows- however nice they seem- in their tiny house, it's a red flag that Fred doesn't know anything about either the apartment or the job. What the heck is she doing, not at least writing to him about these things- what is she trying to hide? Marie isn't an evil person: she's just shallow and selfish. When she promised "for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer" she apparently didn't realize that those words were meant to be taken literally. There are a couple of other vows that she doesn't pay much attention to, either. Part of the problem is that Marie got used to a certain lifestyle; she liked living well on an officer's pay- as well as her own salary- with a heroic pilot husband conveniently at a distance. It's telling that when Fred first comes home, he puts on a suit to go out to dinner but Marie insists that he change back into his uniform. She wants to be seen with Fred the air force hero, not Fred the everyday guy. She's less interested in the more prosaic reality of life with a husband who is stuck in a dead end job, suffers from nightmares and flashbacks, and can't afford to fund the glittering nightlife she wants. The Best Years Of Our Lives highlights some very common problems for returning veterans. One of these is alcoholism: many (like Al) attempted to escape their problems in a bottle. Also, many suffered from PTSD - commonly referred to as "shell shock" at the time, which was not well understood or treated. We see Fred struggling to deal with this, frequently reliving an air battle and crash. This is a much less obvious injury than Homer's, but just as real. Fred's storyline also deals with another problem for vets: unemployment, or underemployment. Thousands and thousands of men were suddenly returning to their countries- and home towns- and were in need of jobs. Al was lucky in that he had a position which was held for him while he was at war. Fred's pre-war job was a low-skilled one which anyone could do, and there's no demand now for the skills he learned during the war. He's frustrated, unhappy, and his wife no longer respects him- if she ever did. So it's no wonder that he gravitates toward Peggy. Peggy, like her mother, is sweet, but grounded and dependable. She has seen Fred at his worst- drunk and immersed in nightmarish flashbacks- and provides support and a sympathetic ear, unlike his wife Marie who merely feels resentful and put-upon. So it is unsurprising that Fred falls in love with her, though I stress that this doesn't make it okay. Marie may be a poor wife, but she is his wife and Fred has no business seeing Peggy on the side. And Peggy, who knows he's married, has no business pursuing a relationship with Fred- and it is Peggy who seeks him out and makes the first move. Fred is justifiably outraged when he finds Marie with a man in their apartment but not long before that he'd been kissing Peggy, so he's not exactly blameless himself. Being unhappy is no excuse for behaving dishonourably. It's a nasty situation all the way around and Al is quite right when he demands that Fred not see Peggy again. Such is Fred's respect for Al that, hot-headed as he is, after an internal struggle he agrees to break things off with Peggy. Over and over again in the film we see that these three men- Al, Fred, and Homer- often seem closer and more comfortable with each other than with their family and friends, despite only having met on the plane returning home and despite being different ages and from completely different backgrounds. This is obviously a "brothers in arms" thing; their experiences at war weren't the same but they still have an instinctive connection, an understanding of what each of the others is dealing with. They can be comfortable with each other because they don't have to explain what went on or why they are the way they are; they can just be themselves, no pretenses. The three men often end up at Butch's Place, the bar owned by Homer's uncle. Homer feels more comfortable there than he does at home because his Uncle Butch is a quiet source of support; he doesn't ask intrusive questions or advise Homer on what he should do... he merely provides a listening ear and keeps his nephew from drinking anything more than an occasional beer. He also teaches him to play chopsticks on the piano. Al and Fred obviously also enjoy the laid back atmosphere at Butch's Place, returning there often. Incidentally, Butch is played by the always wonderful Hoagy Carmichael. Is there any movie that he didn't make better by his involvement in it? And so talented- singer, songwriter, jazz pianist, actor... the list goes on. In the first part of this review, I mentioned how quite a few plot points were foreshadowed in their original flight to Boone City, and discussed several. There's one more which I haven't gone into yet: the three men look down as they pass over a field which is full of decommissioned warplanes. Fred remarks that all of the planes are destined for the junk pile because there is no more use for them. Then, near the end of the film, he walks through that exact field and finds out that the planes are being disassembled and the salvaged materials being repurposed as building supplies for houses. Fred winds up getting a job in construction of these houses. It's obvious that this is a metaphor for Fred's present life. He's returned from the war- at which he was very successful: a decorated hero. But it's to find that the skills he learned during wartime serve little purpose in this post-war world, leaving him feeling trapped and useless. Many- including his wife- believe him to actually be useless, ready to consign him to the scrap heap along with the planes. Then of course Fred adapts and starts down a new path in life, just as the planes are now being adapted to a use for which they weren't originally intended, which is less exciting, but important nonetheless. This is specifically about Fred, but could be applied generally to many of the returning servicemen. As they gather for Homer and Wilma's wedding, there is no pat fairy tale ending, with everyone assured to live happily ever after. Things are going to continue to be difficult- for Homer with his physical limitations, Al with his frustrations at the bank and possible drinking problem, and for Fred, struggling to get back on his feet after his broken marriage and depleted finances. But the film does end on a hopeful note: all three men have people who love them and support them, and they have their solid friendship to help sustain them as well. Life may not be easy- when is it ever- but you get the feeling that, one way or another, these three guys are going to make it. Related Posts:I finished knitting this fat cat Christmas ornament the other day: I knit it with black & white yarn because it's for my sister and I wanted it to look a little bit like her cat (seen below). While knitting, I started my Christmas movie watching with last year's Fatman, an action movie/dark comedy starring Mel Gibson as a tired, embittered Santa Claus. More on that later. Related Posts:Out of the sunset's red Into the blushing sea, The winds of day drop dead And dreams come home to me. -- The sea is still,- and apart Is a stillness in my heart. The night comes up the beach, The dark steals over all, Though silence has no speech I hear the sea-dreams call To my heart; — and in reply It answers with a sigh. -William Stanley Braithwaite
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