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 | Watching "Save the tiger" is an immensely rewarding experience for intelligent people. Simple minds won't even understand it. The first scene is apt to shock the MTV-generation. For 15 minutes the camera follows Harry Stoner(Jack Lemmon) during his morning ritual. He awakes screaming from a nightmare, hears the latest news about Vietnam on tv, takes a shower, breakfasts, dresses.
He, a war-veteran of Anzio (1944; The scars on his back are not skin-cancer as one might suspect, but a souvenir from WWII), is obsessed by the years of his young manhood where America was a shining example for the world.
But Roosevelt's America is gone, and so is Glenn Miller and base-ball without trickery.
His wife thinks he's insane.
He spends $200 a day (Today's viewers: double the sum): Beverly Hills home, his daughter's swiss school, hispanic maid, swimming-pool-service, tree-surgeon. As he drives along Sunset-Strip in his shiny Lincoln Continental he stops for Myra,20, a young hitch-hiker. He is surprised how quickly she offers him sex, but declines nonetheless. In his garment-factory his cutter, Meyer, an old holocaust-survivor and Rico, his ambitious,young, gay protege are on each other's throats. There's an upcomĂng fashion-show this evening and Harry has to talk business with his associate, Phil (Jack Gilford). His firm is on the brink of collapse. He cannot risk bankruptcy (including balance-review), and won't give himself in the hands of the maffia. Arson in one of his factories in order to get the insurance seems the lesser evil. A client, Fred Mirrell, is calling. He buys for $80.000 a year, but wants a call-girl as extra bonus. The following scene is brilliant in its insidiousness: Harry knows what Freddie wants, but politeness (and calculation) require him to play ignorant. He forces himself to listen to Freddie's lamentation: Sick wife, good wife, but after 15 years...
Finally, Margo, the lady in question arrives. In her handbag: baby-oil, camphor, lolly-pops...
Soon, bad news reach Harry: Freddie has suffered a coronary. Harry is outraged: Why hasn't he closed the deal first?! This evening, while he presents his collection at the fashion-show, he sees the faces of his dead wartime-comrades. He realizes that he and Margo sell the same product: Imagination. First meeting with the arsonist. While a commentator in a porn-cinema describes the events on screen in the tone of a newscaster, Harry and Charlie fix the details. Charlie is a real pro. 15 industrial plants set on fire . Just two fire-fighters in hospital.
Harry decides to give life a chance. He suggests telephone-sex to his wife; She is ice-cold in her rejection. This night he spends with Myra, the hippie-girl. Ecstatic from dope he plays a name-a-famous-person-game with her. She doesn't know Glenn Miller or that there ever was a war with Italy. Their play reveals two worlds apart, that only a brief moment of tenderness can reunite.
Next morning, Harry signs a petition to "save the siberian tiger from extinction". He, himself will return to the zoo... It won't be love at first sight between you and this film. It was a low-budget production. Yet- this is a stylish film if you take a closer look.
This film is not outdated the least. It's the story of an honest man whose America has changed beyond his wildest dreams. Think of what the Kennedy generation must have felt when the yuppies took over. Or, if you're 20, look at the 10-year olds. Ten years from now, THEY're going to be the new opinion-leaders and dictate their values on you.
"Save the tiger" is also the best film about the generation-gap that I have ever seen. Play the name-a-famous-person-game with your parents/children. See? Lemmon played for scale, totally convinced by his role. He is of such a human truth in this difficult role, that he transcends his filmic character. "Save the tiger" Ăs a masterpiece. To be seen again and again. |
