Une idylle aux champs

It's somewhat uneven, and you'd probably say that it's interesting rather than good, but "Sunnyside" is still worth seeing if you like Charlie Chaplin's short comedies. A couple of the sequences are very enjoyable, but others don't really work that well, and just take up time.

Rather than his usual tramp character, Charlie plays a put-upon farmhand and handyman who has some of the same characteristics, and the story combines some conventional slapstick with some more imaginative sequences. Some of the material is quite good, especially the sequence with Charlie and the horse doctor treating a patient. But not all of it comes off equally well, and it bogs down at times. It's only average among Chaplin's many short comedies, and not quite as good as most of the later ones, but it has enough to be worth seeing.

When one considers this to have been made in1919, it's a remarkable effort. Chaplin plays his little tramp who seems to work on a farm. But he works at a hotel which sells groceries. He is quite dreamy and incompetent and so suffers punishment at the hand of his boss. How many times can a man be kicked in the rear? There is a wonderful dream sequence where Charlie imagines some nymphs on a bridge. He shows off his incredible grace and dancing skills Of course, he has been knocked unconscious and the reality isn't that great. He also has a love interest. She is very tolerant of him. But factors enter in. The conclusion is quite unsatisfying. But it's OK when one considers all the fun we get to see.

While this is certainly not a bad film and is entertaining to watch, compared to other Chaplin shorts, it's a bit of a let-down. Part of this is because there aren't as many laughs as usual and part of it was that the characters just didn't seem that engaging--something a little unusual for a Chaplin short made this late in his career. Plus, for me, it was a little hard to accept the Little Tramp as a farm hand--he just seemed really out of place and a bit lost. Later, when the rich guy appears and Charlie thinks he's going to lose his girl to this dandy, the movie seems a little more familiar, but still it failed to grab hold of my attention. Not a bad film, but Chaplin certain did better.

"Sunnyside" and "A Day's Pleasure", the two films Chaplin made before his early masterpiece "The Kid", are two of his worst--probably since his days at Essanay. The most evident problem with "Sunnyside" is how uneven and poorly constructed it is. There's a lot going on in the film (maybe too much), and it seems more inspired than the lackluster "A Day's Pleasure", but it's a mess. Chaplin knew it, too; reportedly, he spent much time trying to make it into a coherent picture, and he contributed the film's failure to his personal problems at the time surrounding his failed marriage. In this light, the "etc., etc., etc." in the intertitles seems an expression of exasperation from the director.

In the film, the Tramp works overtime as a farmhand and employee of the adjoining hotel; his only solace being in his love for Edna Purviance's village belle. That sounds simple enough, but its construction and the fluency of the gags are off-kilter, as is the balance between slapstick and pathos. As a result, much of the hilarity and emotional involvement is forsaken.

Perhaps, "Sunnyside" was instructive for Chaplin. His subsequent films, especially "The Kid", would contain pathos and slapstick harmoniously. One may view the film as an experiment in this light. Furthermore, the dream sequence in "The Kid" is a more fully developed construction than that in "Sunnyside". The dancing nymphs interlude here in homage to ballet dancer and choreographer Vaslav Nijinsky might've worked better if placed in a better construction. Nevertheless, There are some funny moments here, as well as some hints at moments of poignancy. I especially liked the opening scenes where the Tramp won't get out of bed and brings a chicken and a cow into the kitchen to make breakfast. But, such moments are often lost within the ultimate hodgepodge that is "Sunnyside".

Charlie works on a farm from 4am to late at night. He gets his food on the run (milking a cow into his coffee, holding an chicken over the frying pan to get fried eggs). He loves the neighbor's daughter Edna but is disliked by her father.

All I know about this film comes from two things: one, watching it. And two, the work of legendary professor Wes Gehring. From watching it, I find that the film is good, with a few amusing bits, but far from Chaplin's best work and it is no surprise that this is not one of his championed films.

From Gehring, I learn that this film (and "A Day's Pleasure") were made while going through a nasty divorce (something Chaplin would do a few times). So if it is not his best work, it may be because he was far from in the best of moods.