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2 internautes sur 2 ont trouvé ce commentaire utile :
5.0étoiles sur 5
Well-Paced Human Interest Story from 1974, Mars 31 2004
What can you do if you're a senior citizen, retired and living on a small fixed income, when the apartment building in which you've lived for the past 30 years or so is about to be demolished to make way for an upscale high-rise? What can you do if your best friend, who promised to take you in, then up & dies? What can you do if you are then taken in by your son and his family who pretend that they want you but, all the while, you know in your gut that you are an absolute burden to them? What can you do if your only true friend is yourself--and your cat? Would you have the courage to uproot yourself for the first time in your life and to discover new places, new experiences and yourself?Such is the predicament of Harry Coombes (Art Carney, in his Oscar-winning performance), who sets out in search of a new, better life after the old, comfortable existence he always knew is unceremoniously cast by the wayside. In his quest across America, which takes him from New York City to Southern California, he occasionally hooks up with family members--his neurotic son Burt (Philip Bruns) and his dysfunctional family, cold-hearted daughter Shirley in Chicago (a well-cast Ellen Burstyn, who won her much-deserved Best Actress Oscar in the same year for Martin Scorsese's ALICE DOESN'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE) and philandering son Eddie (an earnest Larry Hagman)--but it's his experiences with others such as hippy chick Ginger (Melanie Mayron), Native American healer Sam Two Feathers (an unforgettable Chief Dan George) and possible new love interest Celia (Sally Marr) that truly guide him to his destination; perhaps his destiny. Also memorable is the earlier-mentioned dysfunctional family of eldest son Burt, consisting of wife Elaine (Dolly Jonah) and their two grown sons, the ingrate Burt Jr. (Cliff De Young) and the weird, silent Norman (Josh Mostel, in the second significant role of his career). One of the most touching scenes in HARRY AND TONTO is the brief reunion of Harry with his old flame Jessie (a radiant Geraldine Fitzgerald). Their scene together in which they dance to their old memories is one of the greatest in all of cinema. Art Carney's performance as the 72-year-old Harry Coombes is so incredibly natural that you don't realize that Art was, in fact, only 56 at the time. You also forget all about him having played Ed Norton for all those years in the 1950's on the classic TV sitcom "The Honeymooners." HARRY AND TONTO may not be the most exciting film from 1974, but it is has the most human interest. I personally cannot wait until it comes out on DVD. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
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