Tommy (5 Stars)

"Tommy" has a Christmas scene, but that's not why I watched it today. Every year my son Benjamin visits me for two weeks over the holiday period. Usually he says he wants to watch horror films, but this year I want to do something different. I want to watch films that are in my top 100 film list. I'll give priority to films that he says he hasn't seen before. There might be a few horror films, but I can't guarantee it.

"Tommy" is a good place to start. It's different to anything Benjamin has seen before. He enjoyed it this evening, but I don't think he fully understood it. The contrast between the first half and the rest of the film makes it difficult to understand. It's a film that needs to be watched a few times.

As I've mentioned before, the film isn't simply the Who's rock opera with pictures added. Ian Townshend gave the director Ken Russell permission to change the story to make it a better film. For instance, the rock opera takes place after the First World War, but the film takes place after the Second World War. That makes the film more relevant, especially to those who watched it in 1975, when the horrors of WW2 were still fresh in everyone's memories. The biggest difference is that Tommy's father dies in the film, whereas it was his step-father in the rock opera. I don't know what Ian Townshend was thinking. Ken Russell's change makes the film more emotional. It's more logical in the context of the story.

What will the next film be that we watch together? I already know, but I'm not telling you. Come back and read my blog tomorrow.

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