Modern Times (1936)-Not Rated

Run Time:87 minutes

4 stars out of 4

Charlie Chaplin's final "silent" film was the 1936 classic, Modern Times, starring Chaplin as a factory worker and Paulette Goddard as a gamin who's the love of Chaplin's life. I said it was a "silent" film because the film was made after the advent of sound in movies and isn't really silent anyway; it has sound effects, music, and even one of the characters speaks, the factory worker's boss at the Electro Steel Corporation (Al Ernest Garcia). I'm not sure why Chaplin chose not to have any other characters speak, but I'm guessing it was some sort of political commentary, maybe that only the rich had voices in politics or in media. Anyway, the film follows around the factory worker, around the time of The Depression, as he bumbles about on his assembly line, making mistakes left and right, and wreaking all sorts of good natured havoc. He finally suffers from a nervous breakdown of some kind and gets hauled away to a mental institution, and when he returns, only to find he has no job. He later accidentally picks up a red flag, and is mistaken for a communist leader of a worker's strike, and is hauled off to jail. While there, he stops a jail break and gets honorably released from prison with a letter to help him find work. The worker then falls in love with a street urchin girl, the gamin, who is living on her own in the streets. The two of them go on to have all sorts of misadventures together, foling department store robberies, living in a ramshackle hut, and attempting to work at a glitzy and busy nightclub. The film ends with an absolutely beautiful shot of the two of them, one of the most famous in Chaplin's directing caree, nad is well-worth waiting for. One of the most enjoyable things about this film is Chaplin himself. His funny little character walk, the perfect facial expressions, and the brilliant comedy make this movie much more enjoyable and meaningful without words. Modern Times is political sattire at its best, making valid social and political commentary while also providing an outrageously hilarious experience. Chaplin points out the Communist paranoia, union clashes with heartless monopolies, the rich corporation owners, and much more that I haven't mentioned. It was an important film at the time, yet was universal enough in ideals, and funny enough too, to last all the way to today as a classic, still viewed and enjoyed by millions.