It's a Wonderful Life

In It's a Wonderful Life, Frank Capra once again tells the story of an honourable, ordinary person, and no one could tell such stories better than he could.

Dutiful George Bailey has set aside his own dreams to keep the family building and loan association going after his father’s death. Over the years, the work and its modest financial returns leave him disillusioned. On top of that, he is wrongly suspected of financial crime. His shame and despair bring him to the brink of suicide. It takes more than the help of friends to change his mind: angels must also intervene to make him realise that life is wonderful, and that the world would be a poorer place without his contribution.

When It's a Wonderful Life premiered at Christmas in 1946, it was not a success; audiences thought the film was too depressing. Due to an administrative error, the film’s rights were not renewed when they expired in the 1970s, and it entered the public domain—a fact that television stations in the United States have made frequent use of. This brought the film renewed interest and classic status.

Christmas is a time for simple messages, and no one can help being moved when Bailey comes to realise that life is wonderful after all.