This has to be the biggest heap of excitingly melodramatic froth ever to be whipped up in black-and-white. It has everything -- flashbacks, unrequited love, grand opera, bittersweet moments, high comedy, dramatic tragedy, foolish young people learning from their elders' hard-earned wisdom, and a title sequence spelled out in flower petals on a moving stream. It's a great watch, even if you normally stay as far from movie musicals as you can get. A sentimental friend of mine once said, blowing her nose, "I thought that if I saw this over and over I'd get used to it and be able to handle it better, but now I just start crying as soon as I see the tree in the opening credits." Pass the hankies. And the popcorn.
