![]() But look at the beauty of the philosophy, which was a beacon of light in 1937, with a world teetering towards fascism and war, and which is still a beacon of light today. I wish it had not conflated Buddhism and Christianity in some of its messaging, though perhaps in a higher sense, at least ideally, these lead to the same place ('Be Kind'). Warner) and the High Lama (Sam Jaffe) had been played by Asian-Americans. The film is certainly not perfect, and among other things, I wish Chang (H.B. It's one that is easy to be cynical about or to criticize, but there is a great deal of depth here, and dammit, maybe that's what the world needs, more idealists. It's an idealistic, optimistic message that flies in the face of the world at the time it was made, and perhaps flies in the face of humanity in any time period. Brotherhood: that if man's basic needs were met, crime would mostly be non-existent, and people would live in peace. Humanity: being tolerant of others, and most importantly, following two simple words - Be Kind. Moderation: controlling one's desires, and yet not attempting to eliminate them living life in moderation, in all aspects, including moderating one's virtues. Pacifism: simply disarming oneself to defend one's country. In a few different ways, he presents to us many ideals. It seems to me this film was deeply personal to director Frank Capra, and outlines his philosophy and deepest feelings about life, which you may find mirroring quite a bit of Leo Tolstoy in his later years. There are some sweet, romantic scenes between Wyatt and Colman, and the two make quite an attractive pair. Wyatt's character is happy in paradise, but Margo's is not, and reinforces Howard's own desires to leave. There are love interests - Colman falls for a native (Jane Wyatt), and follows her on horseback to catch a glimpse of her swimming in a mountain lake, and Howard falls for another (Margo). His fellow castaways (Edward Everett Horton, Thomas Mitchell, John Howard, and Isabel Jewell) all have nuances to their characters, and while they're not developed as fully as they could have been, they follow interesting arcs through the movie. Ronald Colman gives a strong performance, and his demeanor seems well-suited to the film. We suspect conflict will come in one form or another, and it will be a tale of 'Paradise Lost', but it's not obvious how it will play out. There doesn't seem to be a way out, and this grates on most of them, but it suits Colman fine, as he sees kindred spirits in the leaders of Shangri-La, and wisdom in their philosophy. Their plane crashes, killing only the pilot, and they are rescued by mountain people who take them to an idyllic place called Shangri-La. On a plane ride in China, Ronald Colman and four others are hijacked and flown to a remote place in the Himalayas.
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