Three Comrades (1938) :
Brief Review -
A soothing drama about post-war reintegration, tender romance, and comradeship - Borzage ticks all the boxes in a short time. I always believed that Frank Borzage's filmography in the talkie era had been inconsistent. But I tell you, some of his films are too good and just can't be missed. Theree Comrades is one of those too good ones. Must watch or not, that depends on your taste, but I'll say you should give it a watch. It's quite like an elementary tale of multiple elements that form a powerful narrative of different proportions. Friendship, drama, romance, tragedy, patriotism, social conflicts in post war era and one's nature living life, this film covers a lot of things without 100 minutes. Don't tell me every film manages to do it without using cheap techniques. The film captures the close friendship of three German soldiers in the post-war era. The bond is strengthened by their shared love for the same woman, who is dying of tuberculosis, but there is no love triangle or qaurte in it (thankfully). Borzage's "The Mortal Storm" (1940) was pretty similar to the structure of this film, but it built a totally different tower. That film was about fighting between friends, while this one is about caring for each other. Yes, it's predictable, but never boring or corny. I liked the performances of all four actors. Irrespective of what their individual runtime is, they all have equal weightage and put in nice teamwork on the field. Robert Taylor, Franchot Tone and Robert Young's comradeship is heart-touching, and then Margaret Sullavan's female part makes it more loving. The dialogues are good too. I loved that one - "Send flowers. They cover everything. Even graves." Overall, a nice, uncanny drama that can't be explained in words so easily. You just have to feel the motion.
RATING - 7/10*
By - #samthebestest.
A soothing drama about post-war reintegration, tender romance, and comradeship - Borzage ticks all the boxes in a short time. I always believed that Frank Borzage's filmography in the talkie era had been inconsistent. But I tell you, some of his films are too good and just can't be missed. Theree Comrades is one of those too good ones. Must watch or not, that depends on your taste, but I'll say you should give it a watch. It's quite like an elementary tale of multiple elements that form a powerful narrative of different proportions. Friendship, drama, romance, tragedy, patriotism, social conflicts in post war era and one's nature living life, this film covers a lot of things without 100 minutes. Don't tell me every film manages to do it without using cheap techniques. The film captures the close friendship of three German soldiers in the post-war era. The bond is strengthened by their shared love for the same woman, who is dying of tuberculosis, but there is no love triangle or qaurte in it (thankfully). Borzage's "The Mortal Storm" (1940) was pretty similar to the structure of this film, but it built a totally different tower. That film was about fighting between friends, while this one is about caring for each other. Yes, it's predictable, but never boring or corny. I liked the performances of all four actors. Irrespective of what their individual runtime is, they all have equal weightage and put in nice teamwork on the field. Robert Taylor, Franchot Tone and Robert Young's comradeship is heart-touching, and then Margaret Sullavan's female part makes it more loving. The dialogues are good too. I loved that one - "Send flowers. They cover everything. Even graves." Overall, a nice, uncanny drama that can't be explained in words so easily. You just have to feel the motion.
RATING - 7/10*
By - #samthebestest.