Harold and Maude

'Harold & Maude' is one of those 'sleeper' films that just seems to resonate that bit more with every passing year. Harold, played by the criminally under-utilized Bud Cort, is the quintessential disaffected rich kid wanting to find some meaning in a vacuous life who hooks up with the devil-may-care Maude through their mutual love of attending funerals (Joyce's word 'fun-for-all' springs readily to mind in those scenes). There is plenty to love about this film, the slower pace and the lampooning of easy targets, the 'gung-ho' military uncle and the fetishist priest for example. Here is a film that really stands up well to repeated viewings.

I first came to Harold and Maude from a suggestion from an eccentric friend who I thought I would humor by tracking down a 34-year-old movie. What I found, however, was one of the most amazing yet understated movies about the joys of life that I have ever seen. There are many subtle lines that take an extra amount of time and thought with a little self-reflection that can shake the very belief system of the viewer. For example,

"Zoos are full, prisons are overflowing... oh my, how the world still dearly loves a cage."

and,

"Maude: I should like to change into a sunflower most of all. They're so tall and simple. What flower would you like to be?

Harold: I don't know. One of these, maybe.

Maude: Why do you say that?

Harold: Because they're all alike.

Maude: Oooh, but they're not. Look. See, some are smaller, some are fatter, some grow to the left, some to the right, some even have lost some petals; all kinds of observable differences. You see, Harold, I feel that much of the world's sorrow comes from people who are this, (pointing to an individual daisy) yet allow themselves be treated as that (pointing to an entire field of seemingly identical daisies)"

Harold and Maude is about a young person who is full of life and obsessed with death, and an elderly person who is nearing death but is obsessed with life. What is revealed with this strange juxtaposition is that we can only learn to live life to its fullest by following the lessons of the dying. The message that I have taken from Harold and Maude is to live like you were dying!

This art house favorite is a timeless classic and recommended viewing for all post-Catcher In the Rye teenagers. To modern viewers, the Ruth Gordon creation of Maude probably seems trite, but her Maude was fresh, original and daring in 1970 and the pre-Sophie's Choice twist in her history that Harold discovers was likewise unanticipated by early viewers. Unfortunately, Ruth Gordon went on to recreate this character in lesser films throughout that decade and the character of the eccentric old lady has become rather shopworn.

The Cat Stevens soundtrack is probably one of the most effective use of pop music in film ever.

Hal Ashby's "Harold and Maude" neatly fits into the category of cult classic, chiefly by virtue of its subject matter. In brief, the film concerns a morbid young man who befriends a free-spirited septuagenarian. Together they make about as unlikely a pair as you'll ever see in a romantic comedy.

The stars of the film, Bud Cort & Ruth Gordon, play their parts with relish. Furthermore, the two have excellent chemistry together. Besides the stars, Vivian Pickles, as Harold's overbearing mother, and Charles Tyner, as his uncle Victor, stand out in support.

Ashby's direction is well-handled and the film sports some nice visuals. However, the film's best element on the technical side is arguably the soundtrack. The songs of Cat Stevens are heard throughout and they truly capture and enhance the spirit of the film.

In the end, "Harold and Maude" is certainly a unique little film and one that seems way ahead of its time. It's the sort of quirky movie that would be right at home next to some of today's independent films. Given it's eccentricities, I'm unsurprised that it was a commercial flop at the time of its release but, thankfully, it has gained in stature over time.

The self-destructive and needy wealthy teenager Harold (Bud Cort) is obsessed by death and spends his leisure time attending funerals, watching demolishing of buildings, visiting junkyards, simulating suicides trying to get attention of his indifferent, snobbish and egocentric mother and having sessions with his psychologist. When Harold meets the anarchist seventy nine year-old Maude (Ruth Gordon) at a funeral, they become friends and the old lady discloses others perspectives of the cycle of life for him. Meanwhile his mother enlists him in a dating service and tries to force Harold to join the army. On the day of the eightieth anniversary of Maude, Harold proposes her but he finds the truth about the end of the cycle of life.

The cult "Harold and Maude" was a huge success in Brazil for people of my generation with a refreshing and funny exposition of themes like death, love and life through the friendship and love of a teenager and a septuagenarian woman. The complex Harold is a young man that needs the attention of his indifferent mother. He found in his childhood the only moment that she really seemed to be worried about him after a serious accident in school and he uses to fake suicides trying to have the same attention back. Maude is an anarchist old woman not attached to material stuff like properties or collections that steals cars for self-locomotion. Along a few days, Maude gives a lesson of life to Harold, changing his behavior and feelings forever. The performances of Ruth Gordon and Bud Cort in this weird love story are unforgettable and the soundtrack with Cat Steven's songs is another plus. Unfortunately "Harold and Maude" has been forgotten in Brazil by the distributors and neither the VHS nor the DVD has been released in my country; I just have a tape recorded from the cable TV. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Ensina-me a Viver" ("Teach me to Live")