A King in New York
I realized this when I randomly decided that I want a poll and decided to go with the question you can see on the sidebar. I found it so difficult to decide what I like the best! Heh. By the way, there also is a poll archive page (oh goodness, 9 people are reading this blog? O.o), it’s hidden so far because the blog layout does not allow for more pages to display.
Similarly, I also find it difficult to choose a movie to watch. Sometimes I feel like there is way too much I want to see, sometimes I feel like there is nothing that caters exactly to the mood I am in for a certain movie. But right now, “A King in New York” seems to be exactly the right decision. After seeing “Modern Times”, I am now having a good impression of how Charlie Chaplin’s movies are like, or so I think. “A King of New York” is quite similar in my book: It’s somewhat communistic, randomly funny and throws its main character from one absurd situation into another, giving the movie a slightly episodic feeling.
First of all, I barely recognized Charlie Chaplin. Okay, the truth is, I did not recognize him at all – it’s only after I knew it’s him that I realized that King Shahdov’s movements and mimics are all exactly like Chaplin’s tramp. His way of moving and speaking is so incredibly original after all. I don’t think it’s an obvious thing to be a good pantomime actor and a good voice actor at the same time, and it seems Charlie Chaplin does this brilliantly.
Throughout the whole story, I have been alternating between finding the film amusing and infuriating. (“Man or Woman?” Ahahaha!) Ultimately, its hilariousness won over its annoyances, but sometimes I really was facepalming and getting worked up about another silly thing the poor king has to face himself with – without really being at fault at all. Of course I should have known that everything will turn out fine at the end, and perhaps I should just watch this movie again, having in mind that I shouldn’t take it all too seriously. ;) However, I must admit that I couldn’t stand Michael Chaplin’s voice. He was such a cute shota, but the fascistic screamings were just too much for me, I had fast forward myself through his speech in front of Atomic Commission.
With that said, I am not really sure whether I would qualify this a typical Chaplin movie, and I find it a little surprising that this movie was recommended to me on the ‘list that started my passion for movies’ instead of “The Great Dictator”, “Gold Rush” or “Modern Times”. I still find it to be really good and highly recommendable though – unless you can’t separate Charlie Chaplin from the tramp.