There's no better way to end the year than watching a film that can inspire, move us or simply put us in the proper mood to face the challenges ahead in a more positive way.
In December 2017 we suggested "Penny Serenade", this year opt for "I'll Be Seeing You", a 1944 American drama directed by William Dieterle.
The film takes place during the Christmas holidays, when Mary Marshall (Ginger Rogers) and Sgt. Zachary Morgan (Joseph Cotten) meet on a train for Pine Hill.
Zach is a victim of shell shock and is on a ten-day leave from a military hospital; Mary, convicted for the involuntary manslaughter of her boss who had tried to rape her (a story that is definitely not unheard of even in our times…), has just been given an eight-day furlough from prison to spend the Christmas holidays with her aunt Sarah (Spring Byington), uncle Henry (Tom Tully) and cousin Barbara (Shirley Temple).
On the train they both lie to each other: Zach tells Mary he is going to visit his sister; Mary explains Zach she is a travelling saleslady on her way to spend the holidays with her family.
Before going their ways, they exchange names, and Zach phones to Mary who invites him to dinner. The days that follow are both fun and problematic as the two go out together, but Zach seems to have relapses and asks Mary to help him regaining confidence in himself.
As the days pass Zach invites the Marshall family to the New Year's Eve party at the YMCA, but the joys of the party are marred by involuntary revelations made the following day and by lots of tears. Things get sorted at the very end of the story when Mary will find an unexpected surprise at the gates of the prison.
There is a fashion moment in the film, that features costumes by Edith Head: throughout the film Ginger Rogers wears rather practical suits and coats with a classic '40s silhouette (see the ample and squarish shoulders).
But, as the family prepares to go to the New Year's Eve Party, Sarah goes shopping with her daughter and niece to a department store. Barbara picks for herself a gown with a fitted sequinned bodice and a tulle skirt, but then Sarah suggests her niece to try on a dress that they see in the shop.
The black tulle gown with short puffed sleeves decorated with four sequinned ribbons looks elegantly feminine, but not too over the top and marks for Mary the end of the year, but a possible new beginning and a hope to readjust to life. Enjoy the film and have a lovely New Year's Eve!
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