Come on over and become a lily too

Capra

Frank Capra was a prolific American film-maker (though earlier he tried his hand at acting too) whose films have now established themselves as shining stars in the firmament that is the American landscape. He directed 55 long and short films in a career spanning 4 decades from the 1920s to the 1960s but it was the golden period from 1934 – 41 that he gave the world what is now considered as his best and most sparkling.

Why I Like Capra

There have been times when I have gone through emotional and moral distress, primarily arising out of a perennial struggle between the cynicism of others and my own faith and idealism. I have often attempted and faltered redefining my own individual life along the lines of simplicity, freedom of the soul and plain good nature. Capra’s characters do that too, except that unlike me; they succeed – showcasing the ability of the individual to make a difference.

I like Capra because he made some wonderful films which seem to leap at you, make you laugh and cry, and think. But most of all, I like Capra because he reinforces in his champagne-like way and best of all, does it on celluloid and through the luminous faces and voices of all those great actors, my own thoughts and feelings.

A Capricious Life

Actor and film director John Cassavetes says this of Capra, “Maybe there never was an America in the thirties; maybe it was all Frank Capra." This ‘epitome of American-hood’ started his amazing journey as an immigrant in a crowded passenger ship which was by Capra's own admission, "degrading, stinky and awful". Frank's early life reads like a typical immigrant's story of sweat, struggle and a constant feeling of insecurity; peddling newspapers, busking, manual laboring jobs, movie extras.

It was in college that Capra developed a love for language and poetry, and started writing ~ an eye for things. Possibly it was at this time, that he fleshed out the ideals and the type of characterizations which would later on, be termed ‘Capra-esque’.

Capra films usually carry a definite message about the basic goodness of human nature and show the value of unselfishness and hard work. Life gave Capra the opportunity to manifest these values himself many a time and significantly, post the Academy night of March 16, 1934. Capra received the first of his 6 Academy nominations for Best Director that year for 'Lady for a Day', and it seems that he was quite hopeful of winning. When Oscar host Will Rogers opened the envelope for Best Director, he commented, "Well, well, well. What do you know? I've watched this young man for a long time. Saw him come up from the bottom, and I mean the bottom. It couldn't have happened to a nicer guy. Come on up and get it, Frank!" In typical Academy night fashion, the audience clapped, the searchlight hovered around trying to locate the winner, Capra got up, squeezing past tables and making his way to the open dance floor to accept his Oscar. Then the searchlight swept away, stopped, and picked up Frank Lloyd who had also received his nomination for ‘Cavalcade’ that year. As Frank Lloyd went up to the dais to collect his award, a shamefaced and flustered Frank Capra slunk off towards his seat among his friends, accompanied by calls of "Down in front!" and "Sit down!".

Capra calls this the "Longest, saddest, most shattering walk in my life.” His friends at his table were crying and after returning home that night, he did what many men would in his place. He called himself names, got drunk and passed out.

Next year on Academy night, he had his own Capra-esque moment when he did walk up to collect his Oscar for Best Director (the first of 3) for ‘It Happened One Night’, amplifying what he has always showed in his films – a common man, struggling and humiliated, rising up for his own feel-good, happy ending, showcasing the power of one against many.

Heroes and the craft

I must profess here that whatever knowledge I have of Capra’s film-craft comes after watching just 5 films – ‘It Happened One Night’, ‘Mr. Deeds Goes to Town’, ‘You Can't Take It with You’, ‘Mr. Smith Goes to Washington’ and ‘It's a Wonderful Life’. But this clutch of 5 films along with ‘Arsenic and Old Lace’ and ‘Meet John Doe’ is considered the hallmark of Capra’s film-making - his golden period.

Capra’s simple narrative, his ensemble of quirky, free-spirited lead and supporting characters, the fast repartees, and sometimes, even the sheer physicality of the scenes, mean that as a viewer, you are always keyed into what’s happening. Capra’s films belonged to him and his actors; perhaps Capra could bring out some element in his actors which imprints his brand among movie-watchers even today.

Frank's Favs

I love Capra’s characters. When I think of ‘It Happened One Night’, I instantly think of Gable’s quick-thinking and equally fast-talking journalist role; ‘Mr. Smith Goes to Washington’ brings to my mind the young and gullible idealist Jimmy fighting against a system. Somehow, when it comes to Capra, I find the connections and the underpinnings quite easy to create and comprehend. Among other stuff, one lovely attachment that I have towards Capra’s films is Jean Arthur; she always appears so wholesome in spirit and beauty, the twang in her voice and the vulnerability and strength in equal measure that she exhibited.

Just like other gifted individuals in the fields of art, Capra displays an astounding intuitive and prescient quality to anticipate how individuals, groups, corporations, administrations and even countries indeed, react and progress. Underlying very hard-nosed ideals of economics, filial obligations, practicality, there would be the typical Capra-esque qualities; his own personal history, transformed on the screen.

A recurring theme in Capra’s films is the irrationality of a crowd mentality, juxtaposed with the strong convictions and humanity of the protagonist. Capra would be again, one of the very first film-makers who chose to portray the media as a self-serving and not necessarily, evangelical entity – a theme to be explored later in films like Network (1976). Capra’s portrayal of how the media manipulates and is in turn, manipulated is evocative of how the power to do good gets corrupted, when it is corporatised.

Capra’s best movies were and still are, known for the happy way in which the final reel unravels itself. Before the pleasurable denouement though, there would be strife, complications, misunderstanding and a lot of heart-burn on the screen. Capra shows that even happy endings have their price, as James Stewart once put it, “Capra made you pay for those happy endings.''

Those who do not like Capra

Capra and his films have their fair share of detractors, of course. Critics have often, commented that Capra’s films are clichéd celebrations of the "pursuit of happiness"; a tiresome exercise in extolling and preaching ideals with whom the audience may not connect. Viewers may feel that the films are talking down to them. Capra is accused too, of creating characters who refuse to perceive the griminess around them, instead preferring to "wander about wide-eyed and breathless, seeing everything as larger than life."

In conclusion

In my personal space though, I am glad that Frank Capra existed and even gladder that he made the films he did. I see in them – a plainness, niceness and goodness – which is difficult to find in too many things these days.

I heard this – “One of the nicest movie things one person can do for another is to introduce him or her to Frank Capra's work.” I hope this introduction serves that purpose.

(The title of this post has been adapted from a line in Capra’s ‘You Can't Take It with You’, the lily here being a metaphor for all creations who sustain themselves through the bounty of the Lord, just like lilies in a field.)

No matter how strong II.

The final tale involves a mother elephant and her calf who found themselves by a cruel twist of fate, pressed against the sides of a rocky ravine. This happened around 28^th April in Karbi Anglong district when the duo fell into a 30-foot gorge beside a hill. The mother and her two-month old calf stayed trapped in this rock tomb until local people and then, wildlife vet teams reached them. Reports say that the two got trapped very close to each other, with the mother being hardly able to move and only using her trunk to caress her calf. The mother even tried – unsuccessfully – to suckle her calf. A vet at the site says this of the mother, “Despite being trapped between two huge rocks she tried her best to suckle the calf but in vain. We saw it but were helpless.”
 

Eventually the vet teams with the assistance of the locals, were able to rescue the trapped calf, digging a 100-metre trench removing several rocks to reach the stricken calf. They fit the calf on a sling and lifted it, while the rest of the team and some villagers pulled it from outside. The severely traumatized and injured calf calf was carried down the hill on a stretcher and rushed to the nearest Range Office where it was treated.

Rescue attempts to save the mother were complicated by the terrain, inclement weather and the sudden appearance of a wild elephant herd in the area. Eventually after four days of being trapped, the mother succumbed to her injuries. The body of the mother elephant will forever stay entombed in this rocky grave because it proved impossible to retrieve her carcass.

As per latest reports, the calf was recuperating from its injuries in CWRC at Kaziranga.

It seems that with all the speeding trains, falling rocks and man-made obstructions, not to mention deliberate human action like poisoning water-holes, fate has dealt Assam’s elephants a very bad deal. However, this conclusion in itself, is deficient and hasty. In the ever-hard struggle for living space in a confined environment, both the elephant and man are losing their cool – rapidly. According to records, wild elephants have killed about 279 people in Assam since 2001, while 289 elephants have died during the period, many of them victims of retaliation.

The Trapped Mother-calf

It is this no-winners battle that gets highlighted in This Land We Call Our Home – Man Elephant Conflict of Assam, a short film that has got selected in the competition segment of this year’s Cannesfestival. This film shot by husband-wife duo, Vikeyano Zao and Indrajit Narayan Dev is their second film-making venture that has got shortlisted by Cannes. Their first film, The Last of the Tattooed Head-hunters exploring the head-hunting practice of the Konyak Nagas was the first film from North-East to make it to Cannes last year.

In this film shot all over Assam in the forests, sand-bars and estates that are the last bastion of the elephant, the conflict between man and the beast is examined in detail. The film is said to portray some very poignant and blood-curling scenes, shot in a matter-of-fact style. The outlook is not encouraging as filmmaker Zao says, “When we talk about national parks, many of us know only about Kaziranga. But what about the other forests? The situation is very bleak in Assam.”

The elephant may be strong in itself, but perhaps now more than ever, it needs our help.

[The title of this and the preceding post has been borrowed from the opening lines of Rufus Wainwright’s “Dinner at Eight”.]