City Lights
by Jim Ridley
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If we smile and snuffle at Charles Chaplin's indelible 1931 comedy, will that any make us more sympathetic to the residents of Nashville's real-life Tent City, now facing forcible eviction, or even to the panhandlers who hit up Belcourt patrons for change on the sidewalks of Hillsboro Village? That's the gamble The Belcourt is making by bracketing its "From Tramp to Vagabond" series with Chaplin's lovable Little Tramp--that if movies can move us to tears, perhaps they can stir our consciences to action. No doubt that belief would please City Lights' writer-director-star, whose work has become as unfashionable as charitable impulses or admissions of earnest hope: an artist who works to make the world a better place looks hopelessly quaint in the current marketplace. But City Lights, now 77 years young, seems likely to continue its sweetly defiant shuffle over the graves of cynics for the century to come. To be shown in a restored 35mm print.
Thu., Sept. 25; Fri., Sept. 26; Sat., Sept. 27; Sun., Sept. 28; Mon., Sept. 29, 2008
Thu., Sept. 25; Fri., Sept. 26; Sat., Sept. 27; Sun., Sept. 28; Mon., Sept. 29, 2008
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