Roman Holiday
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Roman Holiday
Roman Holiday, I never expected it to be this good. There is always a barrier when it comes to films, a certain mental blockade you create even you are trying to be objective about things. Films from different eras tend to have a hard time coming into terms with the modern audiences. Everything in black and white seems to have an expiry date with the general audience, the majority of the moviegoers out there. In truth, it is indeed a difficult task to stomach a film made more than half a century ago, because the perspectives of the filmmakers have changed, and so has the perspectives of the audience. People just don't find cheesy lines in a romantic movie, or a one-man showdown against an army of bandits in the desert too appealing anymore. Only the timeless classics survive the test of time, and these are the movies you can watch even fifty years from the year it was made, and fifty years from now when you are sitting at home watching it all over again. Roman Holiday is such a classic, the kind of film that takes you back to the past and still surprises you with how modern it feels. There is something infinitely attractive about this film, and it is more than just my love for Audrey Hepburn.
The Mouth of Truth
Roman Holiday, I never expected it to be this good. There is always a barrier when it comes to films, a certain mental blockade you create even you are trying to be objective about things. Films from different eras tend to have a hard time coming into terms with the modern audiences. Everything in black and white seems to have an expiry date with the general audience, the majority of the moviegoers out there. In truth, it is indeed a difficult task to stomach a film made more than half a century ago, because the perspectives of the filmmakers have changed, and so has the perspectives of the audience. People just don't find cheesy lines in a romantic movie, or a one-man showdown against an army of bandits in the desert too appealing anymore. Only the timeless classics survive the test of time, and these are the movies you can watch even fifty years from the year it was made, and fifty years from now when you are sitting at home watching it all over again. Roman Holiday is such a classic, the kind of film that takes you back to the past and still surprises you with how modern it feels. There is something infinitely attractive about this film, and it is more than just my love for Audrey Hepburn.
This 1953 film was Audrey Hepburn's screen debut, and she won the role not because of her audition for the role, but rather what happened after the audition which was caught on tape. The demure, shy, and breathtakingly beautiful Audrey Hepburn won the role after some casual talks with the director, and it is not difficult - after viewing the audition tapes - to know why she won the role as the Princess Ann. There is just that little something that Audrey Hepburn has, that others do not. Something about her, something insider those deep pools of eyes or that measured smile of hers that completely filled up the shoes of Princess Ann. Next to Gregory Peck, the couple looked absolutely perfect for each other. Speaking of Gregory Peck, I must say that he is indeed the most charming classic actors out there, at least to me anyway.
The story begins with Princess Ann touring various countries of Europe in good will, and the last stop of the tour was Rome, Italy. She has long been trapped in her royal life, suffocating under her role as the successor of the throne, anybody would have snapped under that kind of pressure. So one night, she decided to sneak out of her room to experience a day in Rome, like how an ordinary Italian would on a day to day basis. That same night, she met Gregory Peck's character - Joe Bradley - who is an American journalist living in Rome, who was supposed to go to the press conference with the princess herself in the following morning. He did not recognize her initially, and he couldn't convince the sleepy princess to go home either. So he was forced to carry her to his place and managed to spend the awkward night together. Of course, Joe then realizes that the woman sleeping soundly in his bedroom was the princess - who was rumored to be critically ill to the press due to her disappearance from the media - and thus started the day in Rome with her.
All the princess wanted was to have a good time, to do the things that she has never done before. On the other hand, Joe wanted an exclusive story with her since nobody else in the country knew of her whereabouts. As the day drew on and after a lot of walking around, Joe forgot about his motive altogether, and fell in love with her as a result. It may seem very cliche to read my synopsis of the film, but it really isn't. This movie is probably the birth of those modern fairy tales that we see in the theaters these days, and was probably the inspiration behind the Princess Diaries series starring Anne Hathaway and Julie Andrews. But this is where it started, this is where the magic first occurred - one day on the princess's Roman Holiday.
Being a long time fan of Audrey Hepburn, it was hard to be objective about the film, but I was throughout the duration of the movie. It was surprising to see just how honest she was in front of the camera, how real she was despite it being the first time appearing on the silver screen. She was so natural, so effortless that you almost do not feel that she is an actress. She looked the part, the part of a princess in the film really, and Gregory Peck was fitting as the young and clueless journalist falling in love with the royal highness. The whole plot leading up to him discovering her true identity was hilarious to say the least, and it was also interesting to see the interaction between the princess and the journalist, as they walk through the narrow streets of Rome, avoiding oncoming scooters and other threatening things on the road.
There were a lot of similarities in this film as compared to the ones we have today, this uncanny similarity that cannot be ignored at all. You can see where Richard Linklater got his idea from when he wrote Before Sunrise, and it must have been because of this movie one way or another. Both movies featured two person meeting under unexpected circumstances, and how one day in a foreign city changed both their lives. The same can be said about the Princess Diaries, which was about a normal high school girl learning that she is the princess of a country, and thus having to deal with her new found identity and also, falling in love with a commoner, and ordinary man. I am sure a lot of other movies out there were inspired by the charm of Roman Holiday, but none of them can probably live up to the kind of beauty this film possesses. Of course, aside from Audrey Hepburn, there is always that youthful and innocent element to this movie that is hard to explain, and hard to put a finger on. You don't get such movies any longer, because this movie made everything else in the future - a shadow.
The movie itself moved at a surprisingly fast pace. As I said in the beginning of this review, most movies from that era do not usually have that kind of appeal because, films tend to be slow paced in relative to the films we have today. But this movie was paced in proper, not feeling like a two hour movie at all. That is not to mention just how surprised I was for the fact that all the jokes and gags in this movie worked so well, despite the difference in the era. Some jokes and gags cannot be appreciate in today's context, but it sure wasn't the case for this beautifully crafted film. This also adds to the timelessness of this movie, how it can survive the torrent of time and still breathe life onto the screen every single time. I guess, it doesn't matter which age you are from, or what kind of movies you enjoy more than the others. Everybody likes a fairy tale every once in a while, and this movie provided that in the most beautiful and somewhat tragic way.
Some people stereotype movies of the past to be filled with cliche, and you cannot deny that even if you are trying to be an elitist about such things. In truth, there was never a standard as to what seemed corny and what didn't in the past, which caused the audience to accept anything happening on the screen as it is. Of course, the modern audience may believe that kissing in the rain is as corny as corny movies get, but that was not the case in the past as not a lot of movies actually attempted that before. And as for Roman Holiday, you would expect one of those happy endings romance movies usually have, with the love birds living happily ever after. That is what we hope to see, and that is what stories in books and movies usually end up as. But in this movie, the relationship between the royal princess and the journalist was never - in any occasion - exaggerated or stretched. In the end, the director and the writer did not depend on a cliche and accepted ending to make the film beautiful, because it didn't have the need to do so. It was a fairy tale, and every fairy tale has an end to the book - so did this one. But when the credits began to row, there is still that bittersweet taste in your mouth that won't let you go.
This is probably the first movie I've seen Gregory Peck, and he probably has one of the best male voice I have ever heard. Let's admit it, not a lot of actors today can measure up to his beauty and charm, and the closest actor who can now is probably George Clooney, or at least he was who I thought of when I saw Gregory Peck. Nonetheless, I thought the actors and actresses were perfectly casted in this movie, beautifully paired and the chemistry between all of them was just astounding to say the very least. The emotions flowing through the faces of the actors and actresses, especially the scene in the car just before they parted before the gates, such a beautiful scene that was probably used in numerous other movies in the future. Like I said before, they don't make movies like that anymore, nor do they have actors like the ones in this movie. This is truly a classic, something that can only be appreciate by the people with an open mind, people who know that a good movie does not need to be made in the last twenty years.
If you are looking for a good movie to watch at the end of the day while you are cuddling up in your bed, do watch this movie because it brings you so much warmth and comfort. After all, seeing Audrey Hepburn is - in itself - so therapeutic. She truly earned her Oscar win in this role, and you can see why that is the case if you have a time with this movie. The following is a clip from the film, and the scene was done completely without a script. Gregory Peck did what he did in the clip, and the reaction afterwards from Audrey was all real, with no rehearsals or editing whatsoever. From the clip, you'd understand why Roman Holiday is indeed a classic, and why so many of our modern day romance movies has echoes of the past in this film. This is truly a gold in the cinema, something that you shouldn't miss especially on rainy December days such as now.
The Mouth of Truth
The Hair Cut
Original Trailer
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on Wednesday, December 12, 2007 at 4:36 PM.
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