Make Way for Tomorrow

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Abraham P Dec 9, 2018 Loved this movie~ A movie that concepts are timeless even though the time period isn't. With the elderly living longer, and not being able to afford staying in their home it is likely couples may have to separate. Make Way Tomorrow truly depicts all the issues that may occur with living with a parent. ?? See more

Leia P Jul 1, 2018 Leo Mc Carey delivers a cheerful drama which makes us realize that it is possible to experience being choked up and laugh at the same time with absolutely nothing in-between. To keep the short story short, Lucy (Beula Bondi) and Barkley Cooper (Victor Moore) are an old couple living the post-depression era, they have given everything to their five children and all they have left is their house and the genuine love for each other. Both are forced to take separate ways when they loose their house for financial reasons and none their children are able to take both parents in. After spending some months apart, they have the chance to spend what seems to be their last day together. Mc Carey's knowledge of human beings is staged in Make Way For Tomorrow and satisfactorily gets our sensibility through merely situational moments. No repair is allowed in the whole duration of the film, as all the time one feels both, amazed and shattered. Sad moments are not created by meanness, there is no evil within characters, it is the kindness of people that stands out in almost every situation. After two thirds of the movie a screwball in the storyline takes place and even the universe conspires to create magical atmospheres. The ending scene must be one of the most heartrending in the history of cinema and whoever is not torn apart by it, can not be considered human. If film-making is about arousing people's emotions and transcending through time, then Make Way For Tomorrow successfully achieves both, making it one of the best films ever made. See more

Leia G Dec 20, 2017 I can't say I shared the general critical warmth towards this film. If I hadn't seen Tokyo Story first I might have felt better-disposed towards it as it's impressive by Hollywood standards both for the seriousness of the subject matter (home reposession, the economic insecurity of old age) and its refusal to give us a happy ending. But whereas Ozu's film observes, without judging, the tensions between the generations, Make Way For Tomorrow has a rather heavy-handed didacticism that i find off-putting. I'm not a fan of being told "the moral of the story" before we're even out of the starting blocks. See more

Anakin W Aug 13, 2017 Make Way for Tomorrow is somewhat slow and dull in its first half, but the second half fixed that with a truly heartbreaking ending and a beautiful second honeymoon extended sequence filled with a lot of romantic and sweetly playful moments. It is a well acted, touching and rare 1930s film which deals with old people and aging and thus it felt all the more admirable and impressive. See more

Finn R Apr 24, 2017 A very touching, sad, and realistic view of what taking care of your parents might be like. It's very true how age can differentiate a person's speed of how they live their life. I was surprised by how charming and funny the movie was. It still stands the test of time because it is something so relevant even to this day. I would even say that this movie is ahead of it's time. See more

Albus S Apr 16, 2017 An obvious influence on Ozu's Tokyo Story (1953), Leo McCarey's film also shows the sad plight of elderly parents who realize that they cannot rely on their adult children. In this case, Beulah Bondi and Victor Moore have had their house foreclosed on by the bank and must move out; this is the Depression, after all, and a number of the men in the film are also out of work. This becomes an excuse justifying the decision not to take the parents in. Instead, the couple is split up - after 50 years of marriage - and sent to separate houses. Bondi slowly drives son Thomas Mitchell's family crazy with incessant talking and good-natured meddling. Moore is also in the way in daughter Cora's house. Eventually, the kids plan to send him to California (where another daughter lives) and to put her in a nursing home for women. Before they part again, the parents are allowed one last day in New York City, where they revisit the locations of their honeymoon decades earlier. Yes, it's a real tearjerker but the moments feel authentic and McCarey gives Bondi and Moore room to react to and reflect on their situation. The adult children (and teen granddaughter) are also treated humanely. The end result, as in Ozu's film, is a profound condemnation of a society that does not value its elders, even as it leaves you feeling that every individual "has their reasons". A humanistic classic that resonates even more as we age. See more

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Make Way for Tomorrow

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