Mr. Smith geht nach Washington

After the truly amazing Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, I was expecting another exceptionally strong and, given the sharper critical subject matter, more valuable film. I didn’t get exactly that. While Capra once again masterfully handles a barrage of unprecedentedly intelligent and subtly humorous dialogue, he almost imperceptibly incorporates a compelling love plot into the crucial political action, and his hero, the idealistic and immensely convincing James Stewart, becomes the prototype of sympathy and cinematic goodness as the minutes pass. Unfortunately, while the magical Mr.Deeds was globally accessible in his ideas, Mr.Smith is incredibly pathetic and oozes arrogant American patriotism, which Capra, however impressively, further inflames with the sentimentality of some of the visual montages or monologues (e.g. the boy reading Lincoln's speech carved in stone while a certain veteran proudly nods behind his back). It's still a compelling and timely story, but its heroic nature and rather half-hearted depiction of the good guys and the bad guys left me a little disappointed. 80% (09.12.2015)

An incredible film about how it is possible to stick to ideals. Yes, in some aspects the film may seem naïve, but other scenes beautifully demonstrate how it is possible to achieve what not the individual, but the powerful ruling group wants. James Stewart delivers an incredible performance, as always, but there are others who support him. Everything is then completed by a great script and excellent direction by Frank Capra. An amazing drama that is no longer made nowadays. And yes, sometimes a person is simply glad that it ends differently than they thought. (18.12.2013)