Sure, there are many other movie directors I like and love: Stanley Kubrick, Richard Linklater, Paul Thomas Anderson, Akira Kurosawa etc. etc. (you get the picture). But for me, Frank Capra has won an enduring place in my heart with his heart-filled gallery of motion pictures.
Certain themes stand out in the overall essence of his movies. First, is the dignity of all people, especially the marginalized, downcast, down-on-their-luck average Joes and Janes of the world. Capra’s movies often showed the courage, spunk and heroism of this often passed over class of people. Capra’s messages are as subversive today as they were back in their time, especially as we still see today’s rich get richer and the poor ever struggling to make ends meet. The true heroes are often the dispossessed and passed-over, those who valiantly struggle through life against all odds.
Secondly, Capra’s use of warm hearted humor and frivolity made his movies fun and light hearted, even when dealing with serious subject matter. His characters were often imbued with heartfelt warmth and merriment, even facing the most difficult of circumstances. Yes, I would agree some movies need for us to feel their dark content deeply and viscerally. And yes, some movies are often overly maudlin and saccharine. However, I have highly valued Capra’s ability to combine both ingredients that both greatly move me with his concern for social issues but which also inspired me to feel elevated and uplifted simply being human.
Oh, did I already mention Capra was often covertly subversive in his movies? Take the sense of the socialist overtones in You Can’t Take It With You. Now a-days, socialism is a hot potato issue many Americans don’t wish to address. Capra provided a creative take on it in the movie that was both fun and inspiring. Socialism isn’t necessarily a grim capitulation to communism, a la the Soviet Union or China. Rather, it can be a very freeing, fun, creative way of life and this movie helps us imagine what it could be like. Or how about the classic It’s a Wonderful Life. Capra satirically lampoons the rich (Mr. Potter and company) as greedy, petty and uncaring. Contrast that with the hero, George Bailey, who is for the people even though that prevents him from living the affluent lifestyle of fame and fortune. (Notice how George wrestles with this throughout the movie.) As wholesome and quaint as the movie may seem, it packs a powerhouse of a subversive message about the rich and how the quest for money and power can strip the soul of its humanity.
In many ways, I think Frank Capra is the Charles Dickens of film. You’ll find many of the same themes in both creatives. The two of them greatly inspire me today, even though their stories were in a bygone era and may seem somewhat antiquated. What I value about both of them are their great hearts for the common person, their portrayal of the often sense of unfairness of life, and their portraits of unheralded courage of the common person to rise above their circumstances.
