An ode to Harold and Maude

You know you really love a film when you put it in your top 5 list of all time greats. You know you really love a film when the mere mention of its name, be it in someones conversation or a magazine article, makes your heart skip a beat and pulls at your emotions. You know you really love a film when you name your cat after one of the main characters.

I have such a love for the film Harold and Maude, which has been called something of a cult film, though most people I have met have never seen or heard of it (this I have tried to rectify in my own small way by forcing copies of those nearest and dearest who I believe will dig its individual charms).

The movie bombed upon its release in 1971 and a sufficient dent in the reputation of director Hal Ashby, as cinema goers were not tempted by the (slightly misguided) premise of a romantic comedy between a nineteen year old boy and a seventy nine year old woman.

Though there is an element of romance to their relationship, to me Harold and Maude is more about friendship and how this has no age bounds when two people truly connect. Harold is a sombre young man obsessed with death, who daydreams of suicide plots and frequents funerals. It is at a funeral that he meets Maude, an effervescent old lady who turns his world upside down with life's simple quirky pleasures such as stealing trees from roadsides to give them a better, more dignified life. And yes the film is quirky (though this was in the days when the term had not been overused and thrown at every other film to make it seem 'cool') with singalongs, fake death sequences and a one armed Army General but the film out rides all the kookiness to deliver a genuine heartfelt love letter to two outsiders finding their soul mates.

The influence of Harold and Maude can been seen in many contemporary works, particularly on Cameron Crowe who lists the soundtrack (composed entirely by Cat Stevens) as one of the greatest ever in movie history. The sequence which uses the song 'Trouble' is in my opinion one of the best uses of music and image in a movie, cutting together the unfolding story and heightening the mood that the film has taken.

If this review encourages others to seek out this little gem, then it would make this fan very happy. If not, it has made this fan very happy to simply reminisce about one of my favourite movies.

Oh and I named my cat Maude.