Limelight (1952)

All the terrible facts in his life during the 1940s made Chaplin realize he was a lucky artist, having for almost 3 decades both critics recognition as well as worldwide fame. His personal problems originated by his marriage with young Oona, added to the hate generated in the United States from the brilliant, anti-capitalism movie "Monsieur Verdoux" left him in a very dramatic situation, that made him look back at the past, only to realize how the art he made better was changing... characters, themes, directors and actors were now different. His eternal black and white pantomime was at the moment "useless", and colored motion pictures were appearing...

"Limelight" is the bittersweet movie that narrates the impossible love story between Calvero, the fading comedian, and Terry, the suicidal Dancer. Perhaps his final masterpiece, Limelight earns recognition and admiration for its philosophical thoughts about life, love, and the mix of comedy and drama. Considered as his will to artists and his homage to his three loves: London, arts and women, the movie reflects Chaplin's worries about his audience, his marriage, society. Almost every aspect of Chaplin's life is represented in this motion picture. Just the tittle evokes his theatrical debut, in the late XIXth Century, Calvero is just a variation of Chaplin's eternal character, The Little Tramp, the story of Therry is the same as his mother (her sister also prostituted to make a living), and it goes on...

There will be no movie that'll make me laugh and cry as much as Limelight. I consider it as the last Chaplin film. Enjoy the gag between Chaplin and Buster Keaton, long-time rival in the silent-film era, and the marvelous original score composed by Chaplin himself.

Limelight is a perfect, brilliant, touching movie that'll make you know the person that hid 30 years under the Little Tramp character: a great artist and unique man called Charles Spencer Chaplin.