Some of you may not know this but I am a movie buff. I like to see things in movies from years ago. Not that it is real but the sensitivities of the era are shown. Case in point; this weekend I watched a movie call the "The Yellow Rolls-Royce". It was a trio of stories centered around a 1920s Rolls-Royce touring car. The last one was the most interesting. The movie was shot in 1964 and the story was set in 1941 on the border of Italy and Yugoslavia. Ingrid Bergman was an American widow on holiday with her personal assistant and Pekinese. In 1964 the writers gave this woman the qualities that Americans were known for in those days. She was self obsessed and was oblivious to the rest of the world. Not in a negative way but she just had no experience with hunger or fascism. If you know you're history Germany invaded Yugoslavia while she was visiting. She plaintively said that Mr. Hitler had promised her that he had no intention of attacking anyone else. She was naive as well. Bombs went off outside her hotel and she was shocked by what happened. She stood up straight, shook herself off, and asked if anyone had any plans to help the wounded. Since no one had any such plans she took charge and set up a hospital in the street outside. She got everyone organized and moving in the right direction. She also recognized that the Germans were the bad guys without any media person telling her the obvious. She helped a militia commander (Omar Sharif) rejoin his men with her car. She was the only who could drive. She was fearless, positive, and driven to help people. She was the way that we saw ourselves in 1964. Naive, pleased with ourselves, and little bit short-sighted but when push came to shove we are in there trying to do what is right and needed.
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