Begin
the Beguine
Director: José Luis Garci
Distributed by: 20th Century Fox International Classics
Released: March 1982
Country: Spain
When they begin the beguine
It brings back the sound of music so tender
It brings back a night of tropical splendor
It brings back a memory ever green
I'm with you once more under the stars
And down by the shore an orchestra's playing
And even the palms seem to be swaying
When they begin the beguine
It brings back the sound of music so tender
It brings back a night of tropical splendor
It brings back a memory ever green
I'm with you once more under the stars
And down by the shore an orchestra's playing
And even the palms seem to be swaying
When they begin the beguine
The 1935 Cole Porter standard
“Begin the Beguine” is about lost love and the bittersweet feeling its remembrance
brings. It’s a pretty song that itself
evokes a sadness about love that is gone while simultaneously bringing a
gratefulness for having had the love in the first place. (The video below is a nice version by Pete Townshend off his 1983 Another Scoop album.) And you better damn well love this song if
you are going to watch Begin the Beguine, because you sure are going to hear it
plenty (with a healthy dose of “Pachelbel’s Canon” as well).
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| Elena and Antonio |
The movie is a bit more
specific than the song. World-famous
poet, Antonio Albajara, who had fled Spain in the 30’s for political reasons,
returns home a bigshot for having won the Nobel Prize for Literature. But he isn't coming home to show off or anything like
that—it’s because Antonio has been diagnosed with an unnamed terminal illness and has only months to live. It seems Antonio, who now teaches at
Cal-Berkley and has been married with children for many years, had left behind
in Spain many friends, soccer teammates, and of course the love of his life,
Elena.
To live it again is past all endeavor
Except when that tune clutches my heart
And there we are, swearing to love forever
And promising never, never to part
What moments divine, what rapture serene
'Til clouds came along to disperse the joys we had tasted
And now when I hear people curse the chance that was wasted
I know but too well what they mean
Except when that tune clutches my heart
And there we are, swearing to love forever
And promising never, never to part
What moments divine, what rapture serene
'Til clouds came along to disperse the joys we had tasted
And now when I hear people curse the chance that was wasted
I know but too well what they mean
It’s clear when Antonio
and Elena reunite, they feel both the joy of having been reunited as well as a
pain at having been apart for so long.
It is as if they had never spent a minute apart, their comfort with each
other being palpable. But this is not
just a sappy love story—there is humor and enjoyment as we watch Antonio hang
out with his old friends, and his interactions with an amusing hotel manager
break up the melodrama. But the
melodrama is the main thing, and though he shares his secret with only one
friend, the idea of Antonio’s terminal illness is always present, just below the surface. We are left to wonder whether it was a wise
idea to rouse up all these feelings at this point in Antonio’s life.
So don't let them begin the beguine
Let the love that was once a fire remain an ember
Let it sleep like the dead desire I only remember
When they begin the beguine
Let the love that was once a fire remain an ember
Let it sleep like the dead desire I only remember
When they begin the beguine
Begin the Beguine is a
rather predictable movie, but I didn’t find that to be a problem, really. Both Antonio and Elena’s characters are
likeable and straightforward, perhaps to give those watching the chance to
relate. One could complain that it would
have been nice for the filmmaker to have mixed in another tune or two in to
break things up, but the repeated playing of the same music underscores the
power a song has to bring us back to a past love.
O yes, let them begin the beguine, make them play
Till the stars that were there before return above you
Till you whisper to me once more: "Darling, I love you!"
And we suddenly know what heaven we're in
When they begin the beguine
Till the stars that were there before return above you
Till you whisper to me once more: "Darling, I love you!"
And we suddenly know what heaven we're in
When they begin the beguine
The
Title: Volver a Empezar. The movie was also known as To Begin Again.
The
Culture: The film is set in northern Spain in the city
of Gijon on the Bay of Biscay. The
photography is appealing, with lots of shots of coastal Spain and small town
quaintness. Antonio is a Spaniard at
heart, even if Americanized, and in his return home, he embraces his culture
with nostalgia and fondness.
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| Where can I find a copy of this movie, Clyde? |
Agenda
danger: The Spanish Civil War drove Antonio from
Spain, and we see him in the final moments of the film back at Berkley where he
sought freedom to speak. That was back
when Berkley welcomed free speech.
Best
Picture that year: Gandhi.
Rating: Call for
the revocation of my Man Card if you want, I liked this film a lot. Again, it was predictable and blatantly
melodramatic, but I couldn’t help but like watching the two old lovers/friends
enjoy their finite time together in lovely Spain. I admit I did feel the need to watch something like Dirty Harry to clear my palette.
Note: This one was extremely difficult to find; I recommend streaming on a free site and then quitting membership before you are charged.
