The biographer George travels to Switzerland to interview Chaplin and hears him tell the story of his life. As a child in England, Chaplin steps on stage to stand in for his mother; poverty splits up the brothers and drives their mother into mental illness. Introduced by his older brother, he joins a theatre troupe and starts out as a performer, is later invited to America and rises to fame in film with his unique performances. Once he controls his own productions, he does not forget his humble origins and weaves social criticism into his work, but for this he is branded a Red and suffers political persecution. After the ups and downs of his career and the loves he has lost, the elderly Chaplin sits alone in a cinema, looks back on his old films and weeps.
A powerful biopic directed by Richard Attenborough. Robert Downey Jr. trained hard for the role and portrays the complicated life behind the comic master’s glamorous image. John Barry drew on “Smile” for his moving score. The film opened the first Shanghai International Film Festival and returns to the Shanghai Film Center after 33 years.
Stills(3)
Film details
Director
Richard Attenborough
Country/Region
United Kingdom, United States, France, Italy, Japan
