The Best Years of Our Lives: A triumph by William Wyler

I recently watched The Best Years of Our Lives after resisting it for a long time. I feared it was just going to be just a dusty old tribute to "our fighting men" and the drama will be straight screenwriter 101. I feared sentiment getting in the way the truth. Then I saw it and was completely blown away. There isn't a single minute of phoniness in Best Years. William Wyler was determined not to create a tribute to "heroes", he just gave us three men, ordinary men, who are simply trying to move on with their lives. Of the main trio, Homer got to me the most. I am not a veteran but I knew how he felt. How you don't know how to open up, how you want to retreat inside yourself, and almost every social interaction is sometimes agony.

I don't want to spoil my favorite scene but it's with Dana Andrews. At one point in the film, he visits a particular place. He dies there. No, I am not giving anything away but I am telling you what occured. Everything that occurs in that scene seems rather mundane but it means so much to Andrews and with actions and little dialogue, that scene becomes one of the most compelling in cinema history. I think if there is one scene that elevates that film to legendary status, that was it. I was genuinely touched and I think this movie has held up wonderfully. 100 years from now, people will connect with it.