Souvenirs de Chicago

Growing up with good friends marks a life of memories. You have a writer who has midlife crisis, other friends who are stuck in mundane lives. And the one who has a dream of sailing the sea. When he has become very successful, he gathered all his old friends who want to sail on a boat. In their youth, they were dreamers. The friend who was rich was later diagnosed with leukemia. As his health got worse, his spirits were high. He helped his friend who had a girlfriend who was getting married to someone else. After her marriage, he gets to go out to sea with his dying friend. Years later, the friend dies, and the rest have relocated with their careers. For him, he gets a second chance with the girlfriend from long time ago after her marriage failed.

A very good movie, gives moral support.

3.5 out of 5 stars.

A "feel-good movie" where the good feelings are believable, "Windy City" is a little-known film about a group of middle-aged Chicagoans whose lives, quite realistically, haven't turned out the way they dreamed. Danny (John Shea) is a would-be writer lacking the self-discipline and courage to write, and also lacking the courage to tell ex-girlfriend Emily (Kate Capshaw) how he feels about her... until it's too late and she's married someone else. Then there's Sol (Josh Mostel), who inspires his friends to boldly follow their dreams and live with passion... but who is quickly dying himself. Sound like a bummer? It's not. Sol inspires not just his friends but the audience as well with his joie de vivre and carpe diem messages, and perhaps it's not too late after all for our wishes to come true. A movie about love and friendships, with a nice touch about mortality and the afterlife, but mostly about the positivity of living life like a capital-R Romantic. "What's it about? It's about a guy who still believes in happy endings."

Other than Dr. Zhivago, this is probably my most favorite movie. I first saw it on HBO in 1984 when it was relatively new and saw it 3-4 times in a short period of time. I loved the acting by John Shea, Kate Capshaw and Josh Mostel. I think I was so enamored with it because of the similarity to The Graduate (marriage scene) and the fact that I was just fresh off of a break up where the love of my life at the time had gotten married to someone else. And the end was a perfect way to wrap it up in a bittersweet way.Your imagination can then write it's own perfect ending. I recorded the movie on VHS and haven't watched it in long time and the last time it wasn't very viewable. Would like to find it on DVD.

This is my absolute favorite movie, and I think the best film Armyan Bernstein ever did. It covers everything about life - love, friendship, growing up, careers, living and dying. The acting is first-rate all around, especially Josh Mostel and John Shea - I'm not really a John Shea fan generally, but I loved him in this film. The brilliant script manages to weave several interesting sub-plots involving the supporting characters into the two main story lines - the love story between Danny (Shea) and Emily (Kate Capshaw), and the friendship between Danny and Sol (Josh Mostel) who, at the beginning of the movie is languishing in a hospital with cancer and bemoaning the fact that he and Danny and their friends never became pirates. Although the movie is poignant, even heart-wrenching at moments, there are liberal doses of great humor sprinkled throughout. Bernstein did an excellent job of putting surprising twists on some classic movie clichés. The ending is nothing short of perfect.

This is the type of movie that I still cannot get over has not been more known. A virtual "B" movie in terms of popularity, it is one of my favorites. It follows the life and times of several men, from boyhood to their adult lives...and the changes that occur in those relationships over time. This movie has a real Chicago feel (I'm born and raised here) and in my opinion is a refined "About Last Night." There is deeper meaning and developments of the relationships, and the ending ought to bring a tear to one's eye. John Shea is absolutely outstanding.