Make Way for Tomorrow – My thoughts

Firstly,

The sadness of this movie is always at the back of my head. Since the start of the movie,
there were many tell-tale signs that this movie was going to be about Lucy and Bark not
being very welcomed by their own children. From the bridge classes that highlighted how
Lucy did not belong or fit in with the lifestyle of the family, and how her granddaughter is
perpetually upset that she lost her room and moves her Lucy’s belongings out of the room
without her permission.

But if I were to analyse this movie based on the sadness of seeing Lucy and Bark being
underappreciated by their own family members, it is not foreign or very unique.

Strangely enough, I do find myself getting irritated at Lucy time to time, I think that also
made me realised that no one is at fault in this movie. But really just that people live
differently.

For me, the most impactful moment in this movie is about what Lucy said in her
conversation with her granddaughter Rhoda.

When Rhoda asked her grandmother why don’t she face facts?
Lucy replied that: When you are seventeen and the world is beautiful, facing facts is just as
slick fun as dancing or going to parties, but when you are seventy… well, you don’t care
about dancing. You don’t think about parties anymore, and the only fun you have left is
pretending there ain’t any facts to face, so would you mind if I just went on pretending.

And this appears to be carried on in the final minutes of the movie when Lucy conversed
with Bark, saying how she believes he would find a job when it also concurrently seems that
they are saying a real goodbye.

This conversation intrigued me because I find that it is quite true. If I had the capability to
face harsh realities and overcome them easily, there is little reason for me to lie to myself
that certain problems do not exist. But if I lack the capacity to resolve my own problems, it is
likely by finding hope that would enable me to remain sane and continue trying in spite of
the overwhelming odds. However, it gets even more interesting because Lucy is aware of
her self-deception. And I do wonder if her pretence at the final moments with her husband
is to give comfort and reassurance to her husband, while she herself is cruelly aware that
they probably will not see each other again.