"Modern Times"

A Precis Film Review

To see Charles Chaplin again was to be reminded of his perfect artistry and his great genius. There is no other artist living who can present us with mixture of pathos and humour that makes us laugh lest we weep.

In this picture we see a maturer Charlie Chaplin tilting at all the paradoxes and injustices of modern times. Because his ridicule is tempered with humour the thrust goes deeper. In a few flashed he brings home to us the in humanity of the conveyor belt system, the tyranny of machinery and above all the absolute despair of unemployment. With sardonic pleasantry he tears to shreds the methods of justice and the "equality" of our social system. While we may laugh at this little man in difficulties, we cannot but remember that the world over people have been arrested for crimes, especially political crimes they did not commit; others have peferred prison (and shelter) to walking the streets, while others have had to live in hovels, and there are such on Te Aro flat, that fell to bits with the touch.—H.