Little Women (1994)

[mbu]

Little Women (1994)

The movie follows the March children as they grow up during and after the American Civil War. The family is faced with major and minor problems that they confront head on sharing laughter, tears, and some awkward moments. With their father away fighting in the Civil War, the girls are lead by their strong-willed mother whom they affectionately call Marmee. One of the ways the girls find to deal with all that is going on is to create their own attic theater company where they write and perform in their own plays (especially Jo who is the central figure in organizing and writing the skits).

An orange becomes a rare and precious commodity that also serves as a lesson to the youngest, Amy, who succumbs to her moral values and goes with her family to deliver their Christmas meal with a family even less fortunate than their own. It is this selfless compassion that leads to tragedy for one of the girls, Beth. The sisters have their tiffs, especially Jo, upon whom the story mostly revolves.

Next door to them is a wealthy elderly man named Mr. Laurence, who at first keeps his distance from the March family. When his grandson Theodore (nicknamed "Laurie") moves in with him, Laurie becomes the girls' friend. One of the girls' favorite diversions is acting out Jo's many spirited plays - highly unsuitable, so they perform in secret. Jo invites Laurie to join their troupe, and he donates a mail-box as a peace offering. Over time, Mr. Laurence also becomes a kind friend, especially toward Beth, who plays the piano exquisitely and reminds him of his late daughter.

Jo accidentally holds the curling iron in Meg's hair too long, burning the piece off right before a fancy ball. Meg dates Laurie's tutor, causing Jo to realize their childhood is coming to an end. When Beth comes down with scarlet fever, Amy, who, unlike her sisters, never had the sickness, has to go and live with grumpy wealthy old Aunt March. Jo had been Aunt March's companion for years and hated every minute of it; the only reason she continued was knowing that one day Aunt March would go to Europe and would have to take Jo with her. Amy, as the sister most obsessed with money and good-looks, thrives as Aunt March's new companion.

As the girls grow up, they learn in their own time about life, loss, and most importantly, love. When their father gets hurt in the war and Marmee can't afford a train ticket, Jo sells off her hair to a wig shop to pay for it causing the entire family to be in shock, and Jo to later have a heart warming scene crying over the loss. Mr. March finally comes home from the war and the next few years sees the March family experience changes, including Meg's marriage and Beth's deteriorating health. Laurie graduates from college and admits his love for Jo, begging her to marry him and go away to London with him. Jo realizes, however, that she could never love Laurie more than as a wonderful big brother, so she refuses him. Heartbroken, Laurie flees to England.

Jo later deals with the added disappointment that Aunt March has decided to take Amy with her to Europe instead. Crushed, she resolves to leave Concord for New York City to pursue her dream of writing and experiencing life. She meets Friedrich Bhaer, a German professor who lives at the boarding house where she stays. Friedrich challenges and stimulates Jo intellectually, introducing her to opera and philosophy, and spurs her to become an even better writer.

The trip to Europe serves Amy well: she improves her painting and runs into her old childhood friend, Laurie. Finding that he has become dissolute and irresponsible, Amy censures him and refuses to having anything more to do with him until he pulls himself together. The two become close and to everyone's shock - especially Jo's - are married. Although she bears no hard feelings over the marriage, Jo admits to being momentarily shaken as Laurie walks into the March home with her sister Amy as his new bride. This leads Jo to fear that she will never find love and will die alone. In more heartache in her drama-filled life, Jo rushes home to Beth, who finally succumbs to the lingering effects of the scarlet fever she suffered as a child.

The film ends with Jo pouring her life and heart into her writing, and finding true love.

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