Critique of the final scene (spoilers)

My thoughts exactly, Gregiore. But it is still a great film.


"The books have nothing to say!"
-- Fahrenheit 451

Callooh, you are forgetting that her job involves the sense of smell. How else could she know what type of flowers she was selling?

I.S. Oxford

"The books have nothing to say!"
-- Fahrenheit 451

I've just seen the complete movie (at the Eastman House's Dryden Theatre, a lovely setting) for the first time, and am overwhelmed.

"City Lights" is billed (in the opening credits) as "a comedy romance in pantomime." It calls for a certain lighthearted suspension of disbelief. The plot elements are comical and romantic—the way the Tramp keeps fortuitously encountering the Eccentric Millionaire at night, the equally fortuitous absence of the Blind Girl's grandmother every time the Tramp visits her (which precludes her being able to tell the Blind Girl what he looks like), the plot twist involving the two burglars, even the bit with the Tramp studying the nude bronze statue while the sidewalk elevator rises and falls behind him.

The Tramp is dressed at once like a street bum AND a tattered gentleman—the bowler and cane were symbols of masculine elegance and status. Working-class men and young boys, in contrast, wore flat "newsboy" caps, like the newsboys who taunt and harass the Tramp, the big, tough-looking guy in the sidewalk elevator whom he politely skeddadles away from, the boxer who strikes a deal with him, and the one who's quickly recruited to be his actual opponent. Chaplin's comic persona is decked in incongruously mismatched clothes and fine manners. He's impoverished but dignified--he buys a flower from the Blind Girl but won't take change. One has to assume that the Tramp finds ways to maintain fastidiousness. "City Lights" is not a social-realist movie, but a romance.

The Blind Girl recognizes the Tramp, newly released fro jail, by the toch of his hand, since she has no visual recollection of him. She is intrigued and a bit distraught by the appearance of the formally-dressed-to-the-nines, filthy-rich, handsome young blade who steps out of his limousine comes into the store to order some flowers, because she thinks, momentarily, that her benefactor has returned. This heightens the irony of the ensuing scene, where he, more tattered than ever, stares at her through the window, aghast, ashamed, and delighted, holding the wilted flower he has just picked up from the gutter.

I reviewed the last scene several times on YouTube (several clips from "City Lights" are posted therein), and it still "got" me when I saw it on the big screen. Chaplin wanted the ending to be open, ambiguous, unresolved. A modern director might well opt for the explicitly romantic wrap--having her throw her arms around him and lead him into the flower shop--but how much more poignant the ending is for being open! There are many possible interpretations--it's like poetry in that sense.

Remenber she though he was a wealthy guy.

So, maybe she recognized his smell, but wouldnt think it was him when she saw him. Because all she knew, was that he was a millionaire. So, it couldnt be him. Maybe her subconcious was sending messages to her that it was him, thru the smelling, etc.. and finally when she touches him, she became sure.

SALUTATIONS FROM BRAZIL.
"Shop Smart, Shop S-Mart" -Ash

As an eye doctor who works a lot with people with severe vision loss, I think the opening post makes some erroneous assumptions. First, the assumption that someone with vision loss would have heightened smell is incorrect. Second, blind people will often rely on touch to recognize others. Other than recognizing a particular individual who always uses the same perfume I have never met a blind person who recognizes people by smell.
Having said that, this is a great film and that small plot point is irrelevant. There are many other such small issues with the film. The idea that they could advertise one operation that works for all blind people is silly, but again quibbling over details like that misses the whole point.