Harold and Maude (1971)

Harold and Maude
Directed by Hal Ashby
Written by Colin Higgins
1971/US
IMDb page
Repeat viewing/Amazon Prime rental
One of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

Maude: Dreyfus once wrote from Devil’s Island that he would see the most glorious birds. Many years later in Brittany he realized they had only been seagulls… For me they will always be – *glorious* birds.

This is the movie fated to accompany me throughout life.  I unconditionally love it.

Harold is a troubled teenager.  He lives with his thoroughly self-centered mother (the hilarious Vivian Pickles) in a gloomy old mansion.  For fun, Harold goes to funerals and stages increasingly macabre “suicides” in the vain hope of provoking some kind of reaction from his mother.  He is clearly a friendless virgin.  His mother constantly nags him about making something of himself.  She decides he should get married and sets him up with a computer dating service.  They pick some doozies for him but he is skilled at chasing them away.

In the meantime, he encounters the vivacious septuagenarian Maude (Ruth Gordon) at several funerals.  They gradually become friends as she shows him what a fully lived life can be made of.  With an unforgettable score by Cat Stevens.

This movie has the best acting, the best lines, and the best music to stand up to a time not so different from that one and leave the viewer with hope in the human race.  It has never ever failed for me an I will always be grateful to it.  Warmly and unreservedly recommended.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQK8I6jtG_8