Une idylle aux champs

This is another one of Chaplin's comedies. The Tramp is the butt of the joke by the start of the movie and turns the tables on the jokers by the end of the movie. There is a love interest that The Tramp falls in love with and by the end of the movie, wins over. Like many of Chaplin's movies, the use of extras and supporting actors add to the comedy. So often, Chaplin casted very large people or very small people. Usually we see a very over weight and tall man standing next to a very skinny and short man. For a silent film, Chaplin is good is using the eye candy to create laughter. Also, if you look closely, all of Chaplin's films have a political message. By the time Chaplin was producing full length features in the 1930's and 1940's, he was clearly making an attempt to throw large political messages at his audience. Although it is a tiny and is easy to miss if you are not looking, the message given by Chaplin is successful. The hotel owner in the movie has a framed sign on his bedroom wall that reads: Love thy Neighbor. Pointing the finger at the ignorant Christian, Chaplin showcases a man who reminds himself to love his fellow man, but manages to treat The Tramp like dirt. Very nice and to the point, Chaplin does it again.

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.

Charlie Chaplin's satirical streak was not reserved solely for pompous authority figures with big bellies and wispy beards. He was not averse to turning his wit outwards and directing it at the very production style and process he himself was a part of. Sunnyside does not lampoon the movie industry – rather it makes a joke out of the Chaplin brand which the comic, eager to move on to more sophisticated feature films, was beginning to grow weary of.

Chaplin had practically invented the narrative slapstick comedy, but here he belittles the storytelling aspects that were now a comedy standard, curtailing descriptions of characters and places with "etc, etc, etc" and using a title card to bluntly announce the romantic subplot. Throughout the picture he makes use of his now most clichéd plot devices – the abused employee, the sophisticated love rival, the "it-was-all-a-dream" revelation – and, of course, numerous examples of his stock slapstick manoeuvre, the kick up the arse.

And yet, it appears Chaplin was incapable of deliberately making a bad picture. There are plenty of decent gags here, especially those at the beginning where Charlie thwarts his employer's attempts to get him out of bed. And even at the height of his sarcasm and hyperbole it seems Chaplin cannot help but work in gags and sub-gags which are genuinely funny. And for all its narrative laziness, Sunnyside is actually strong in its visual storytelling, beginning with the iris on the church spire to set the tone, then opening up the iris to reveal an exquisitely balanced shot of the village. And even the rushed ending is among Chaplin's sweetest in its delicate imagery.

And there's more; the all important statistic – Number of kicks up the arse: 24 (2 for, 22 against – can this be a record?)

Am a big fan of Charlie Chaplin, have been for over a decade now. Many films and shorts of his are very good to masterpiece, and like many others consider him a comedy genius and one of film's most important and influential directors.

From his period after Mutual, 'Sunnyside' is not one of his very best and not even among the best of this particular period. As said with many of his post-Keystone efforts, it shows a noticeable step up in quality though from his Keystone period, where he was still evolving and in the infancy of his long career. The Essanay and Mutual periods were something of Chaplin's adolescence period where his style had been found and starting to settle. After Mutual the style had properly settled and the cinematic genius emerged. Something that can be seen in 'Sunnyside' though other efforts do it better.

The story is slight and a bit too busy and manic in places. It does get bogged down at times by padding and a few scenes that don't serve a lot of purpose. Not all the sequences work either.

It is agreed that the nymphs scene in particular is bizarre and doesn't fit with the rest of the content and story, that was a scene that could easily have been left out and it would not have affected anything at all.

On the other hand, 'Sunnyside' looks good, not amazing (though the opening shot for early Chaplin is remarkable) but it was obvious that Chaplin was taking more time with his work and not churning out countless shorts in the same year of very variable success like he did with Keystone. Appreciate the importance of his Keystone period and there is some good stuff he did there, but the more mature and careful quality seen here and later on is obvious.

'Sunnyside' is very funny and charming, if not one of Chaplin's substance or pathos-filled. Its best moments (like with the horse doctor) are hilarious with some clever, entertaining, remarkably inventive and well-timed slapstick and the charm doesn't get over-sentimental. It generally moves quickly and there is little dullness in sight. The second half is both hilarious and enchanting and the message isn't laid on too thick and has more potency than one would think.

Chaplin directs more than competently and the cinematic genius quality is emerging. He also, as usual, gives a playful and expressive performance and at clear ease with the physicality and substance of the role. The support is good and the chemistry charms.

Overall, good but not great. 7/10 Bethany Cox

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.