Yay! I am so excited for the fall edition of the buddy movie watching I do with my friend and fellow blogger, Lisa, over at Boondock Ramblings! We wanted to watch some fall movies together and really couldn’t pick one lane. Or maybe I couldn’t, because that sounds like me. So we have a list that we compiled that moves from feeling all cozy autumn that moves into sort of creepy, then boop! Back to cozy again! We wanted movies that made us feel all snuggly, that made us want to get under blankets and drink tea, and then we wanted a little extra thrill for around Halloween. And I think we were successful in our list making! Feel free to watch along with us!
Our very first movie that we watched is The Shop Around the Corner, starring James Stewart and Margaret Sullavan.
This charming movie is based on a Hungarian play titled Parfumerie by Miklós László, and it has inspired three film adaptations, the most recent being the popular You’ve Got Mail, and one Broadway play. I felt like Mr. László deserved a bit of a shout out for writing such a delightful story!
James Stewart plays Albert Kralik, a loyal, hardworking clerk in a leather goods shop in Budapest. He is the most senior employee, the one who has been there the longest, and his boss, Mr. Matuschek has even had him over to his house. (This is important later) Margaret Sullavan plays Klara Novak, who comes into the store hoping for a job and does indeed leave with one. Both Albert and Klara have pen pals who they are in love with, who are their “dearest friend” that they have deep conversations with – and these pen pals are each other, although they do not know this.
In person however, not knowing the other is the dear friend behind their letters, they have a very antagonistic relationship and don’t like each other too much. Although they do. They apparently are mean to each other, because they actually do have an attraction. The audience doesn’t know that right away though. In fact we don’t learn that Klara was attracted until…well, I will tell you later.
In the meantime, while these two are bickering, Mr. Matuschek is having his own issues. He owns this wonderful shop that bears his name, is elegant and well to do, and loves his wife. He even tells Kralik this, that Kralik made Mrs. Matuschek happy when he visited which in turn made Mr. Matuschek happy. However, tensions begin to rise between Matuschek and Kralik. Kralik now can do nothing right, and it comes out that Matuschek suspects his wife of having an affair with Kralik. He hires a PI who confirms that yes Mrs. Matuschek is having an affair with an employee, and Matuschek mistakenly assumes it is Kralik as he has believed for a while, simply because Kralik is the only employee who has been to his house. He subsequently immediately fires Kralik, on the very night that Kralik and Novak were to “meet” their pen pals (each other remember).
After being fired, Kralik is not as enthused about the meeting, and brings along friend and former fellow employee Pirovitch (who I really liked even though his part is very small) as moral support. He has Pirovitch peek in the window to find his date, who should be carrying a copy of Anna Karenina with a carnation in it. Pirovitch takes a peek through the windows, and spots the woman – and learns it is Klara. He tells Kralik who it is, and he is even less enthused it seems, and was not going to go in. But curiosity gets the best of him and he goes in and speaks to Klara, although does not reveal himself as her special friend. She is pretty mean to him, and insulting and he ends up leaving without ever telling her.
While all this is happening, Mr. Matuschek is back at the store, and attempts suicide. The delivery boy Pepi interrupts his attempt, saves his life, and takes him to the hospital. Mr. Matuschek will be in the hospital for a while so he hires good old Kralik back, as manager even. So promotion! They clear the air and Kralik is very happy to be working as manager – but Klara is not too thrilled at seeing him the next day. She is not doing well, after having been stood up and then having a dramatically empty mailbox (this was very dramatic but also so very well done) and takes some time off after passing out at work (after learning that Kralik is indeed her boss for a while).
Kralik being a good sort goes to visit her. Now we the audience know that he knows the situation, although Klara is still in the dark. He sort of teases her some, and then.. she gets a letter. The letter she has been waiting for, and there Kralik is to witness the joy that spreads across her face as she reads it, joy that he put there although she is unaware. I kind of loved that part. He has such a little smile on his own face there, that is just so.. earnest and sweet.
Well anyway. Christmas Eve comes and Kralik wants to make it special for Matuschek who is still healing, and urges everyone to sell, sell, sell their little hearts out, believing that his will make Matuschek happy. And it does, but even more so is the revelation by Matuschek that this little shop and its employees are his home and family. He is out of the hospital and stops by the shop to see what is going on, and it hits him. They are his family and he appreciates them and he has his own little heartwarming moment in the snow that made me say, “Awww I love that” out loud while watching.
Everyone leaves and goes about their Christmas Eve plans, except Kralik and Klara. Now, the two are scheduled to “meet” but Kralik stops her and tells her some story, that her pen pal has stopped by the store and he is an unappealing man who wants to just live off of her. Then as they talk a bit more, she says that she was mean to him before because she was attracted to him and he reveals who he is and they both live happily ever after, complete with a kiss.
It was so cute and charming and I loved it. It was definitely a heartwarming, cozy, cuddly film and made me love James Stewart even more! It seemed so very simple, yet, wasn’t. There was so much to it, loneliness and hope, love and dreaming of love and lost love and found family, that I absolutely adored it.
Next week is double feature week! The Fantastic Mr. Fox and The Secret World of Arrietty!
Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs.. 