Harold and Maude

 

Eccentric is probably the best word that I can use for this black comedy romance directed by Hal Ashby and released in 1972.  I had not seen this movie when it was released in 1972 but my daughter who is an electronic media and film major could not stop talking about it.  It was one of the movies she watched in class and after she told me about it, I ordered it from amazon.com.

Harold is a death obsessed 19 year old and surprisingly some of the funniest parts of the movie are his staged attempts at killing himself.  At first I was stunned at the great lengths he went to stage his death but actually it became hilarious when you realize if he really wanted to kill himself he would have long ago.

He meets Maude a 79 year old soon to turn 80 senior at a funeral and there is an instant connection between them, a spark; and so starts this quirky romance between them.  The most important lesson she teaches him is to live life to the fullest because she has and she has no regrets.  The escapades these two experience together are just plain fun. She decides to save a tree from life in the city so she gets harold to help her find a new home and gain its freedom only to be chased by a policeman.  She thwarts the attempt by Harold's uncle to have him join the military, clearly not a good choice for Harold.  And it just goes on and on.

An added bonus to this movie is the soundtrack.  The music is sung by the artist formerly known as Cat Stevens a very popular musical artist of the seventies.  Some of the tracks are from his triple platinum album Tea for the Tillerman.  In total there are nine of his songs as part of the movie.

At the time of the release of this film, it was classified as a cult film. I can see why.  I really like the movie and though I did not read the book, it does qualify as a romance albeit not your typical one. Watch it.