Because I could not stop for Death, he kindly stopped for me; the carriage held but just ourselves and immortality” – Emily Dickinson
If Death took a holiday, the guns would go silent in Iraq, the slaughter on our nation’s highways would cease, and the news media would be compelled to cover positive events in the humanities, arts, and sciences. Unfortunately, Death has not had a vacation in recorded history, but Mitchell Leisen’s 1934 fantasy, Death Takes a Holiday, allows us to consider the possibility. Co-written by Maxwell Anderson and Gladys Lehman and based on the play "La Morte in Vacanza" by Alberto Casella, Death Takes a Holiday stars Frederic March as the Grim Reaper who takes on human form in an attempt to discover why men fear him so much. Why he has waited 5,000 years to satisfy this curiosity is not explained.
[Spoiler] After a brief tryout as a shadowy figure who scares the daylights out of those that cross his path, Death shows up at, of all places, an upscale party at an Italian villa, posing as the mysterious Prince Sirki. Only one person knows who he really is, the host Duke Lambert (Guy Standing), and he is sworn to secrecy. Sirki proceeds to fascinate the guests. Given to bursts of wit and poetry, he can just as quickly turn sullen and threatening, and some soon find out that it is better not to look too deeply into his eyes. During the three days in which the Prince is at the villa, however, people all over the world miraculously escape death and potential suicides are doomed to frustration.
To see what’s behind all the conversation about love, the suave but naïve Prince Sirki falls for the irresistible Grazia (Evelyn Venable), the daughter of one of Duke’s friends. Grazia knows who Death is but does not fear him, much to the chagrin of her fiancé, Corrado (Kent Taylor) who has developed a strong disdain for Prince Charming.
More sinister than Brad Pitt in the 1998 remake Meet Joe Black, March turns in a very convincing performance as the creepy yet strangely appealing guest. Although the ending is melodramatic, the emotions are very real and the suggestion that Death may in reality be a friend disguised as a foe is quite touching.
(Howard Schumann, talkingpix.co.uk)
In this wearisome and predictable plot line, Death falls in love and bores us to death talking about it.
(Dennis Schwartz, homepages.sover.net)
I've heard DRACULA was advertised with the tag line "The Weirdest Love Story ever told!" (this is probably a paraphrase), but at heart, I've never felt that you could honestly call that movie a love story. The tag line would be much more appropriate for this one, since it ultimately boils down to what amounts to a love story. This movie is very good indeed, particularly if you consider that it is built around a concept that could have easily been handled in a cute or facile manner. Instead, it is handled as seriously as possible, with some real thought put into how death would try to come to terms with a life and an outlook that was to that point totally unfamiliar to him; much of the credit does go to Fredric March in the title role. It's quite scary when it needs to be, particularly during the first twenty minutes. From then on, it deals with its themes with subtlety, a quiet wit, an enduring sadness, and an everpresent tension on how Death might react if crossed. It's not perfect; some of the dialogue is self-conscious and artificial, as if the writers knew they were dealing with weighty issues and were trying to be profound. But I am certainly glad they didn't try to turn it into a musical comedy of sorts.
(Dave Sindelar, scifilm.org)
See also the remake: Death Takes A Holiday (1971)
我觉得主要论点是亲密关系使人成长，同时夹杂了太多政治正确的支线论点。
好温柔的叙述 想念黑白的纽约 以及小人难养
跟孩子相处，需要耐心、忍耐，无怨无悔，可不能跟小孩计较什么，一切以小孩为中心，这也是有前提的。
就像缓缓流过山林的溪流
“你们这代人已经缺少了这种安宁静”
风也温柔。
补，喜欢在评论里看到的一句：这是一部能让人变得柔软的电影。
i like the sound, sounds like from inner.
假设你要和来自另一个国家的同龄人进行交流，你会怎么和他描述我们的国家呢。
其实这种题材和风格是我喜欢的类型，为什么会给三星呢？大概是因为效果一般般吧，尽管选择黑白影像自带魅力，但是没有用出感觉。特别是舅舅和外甥在灵魂上的一致部分，他们都是有渴望的、隐藏的，但最后是温水式的，不过，温水也有温水的温柔。
城市，采访与孩童。摄影很棒，温柔又琐碎的日常。可能有了人类幼崽以后再看会不一样吧
其中的采访让我想到了我和我老弟的对话。我当时问他他有什么幻想的英雄，他的回答和我在他那个年纪的回答极为相似。我们都渴望一颗星球，一个帅气高大的英雄形象，一个超速豪华小型飞船，还有无敌的设定。
Johnny的收音器好迷人。让我第一时间想起「里斯本的故事」。放假了，看电影不再慌张，或者拆散情节断断续续。在幽凉的房间里看电影，是一个人静悄悄的欢乐。
分不清真实的边界在哪，可控的范围在哪，崩溃的握拳时机在哪。就是生活。
会讲话的电动牙刷
又或许，最后二人的爆发打动了我：我可以感觉很糟，我有感觉很糟的权利，这太扯淡了。
我总是跟小丑串戏，那个眼神给我印象太深了。结构看着松散，展开当中表达了比较丰富的内涵，我看完更没有信心去带一个孩子，我觉得我会没耐心，会控制不住情绪，最终会放任其自由发展。
一个“假想父亲”带娃的历程，剧情很少，对话很多。如此纯粹，如此温暖，如此赤诚。
喜欢看一些温情小品。这么美好的舅侄关系甚至让我有些嫉妒。
看似平淡但却无比真挚的叔侄感情，黑白色调选的太好了，纪录片导演受到姐姐的委托照顾自己的儿子，叔侄在相处中不断破冰，叔叔告诉了侄子他和孩子姐姐关系看似不好的原因，以及孩子父亲的挣扎，最令人动容的时刻莫过于小孩要被送回家向叔叔道歉，和母亲来接他的不舍。影片还引入了许多问题，而儿童的回答却很有深度，令人深思儿童的视角，太喜欢小男主了。
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