My Darling Chico,
You have been away from me for nearly 2 years now at war. I simply can’t believe you’ve been away that long. It’s also been so long since I’ve heard from you. I miss you so much. We parted on our wedding day and I relive those last moments together as if they exist outside of time. I wonder how you are and pray to God that you will return home soon. I long for you to hold me in your arms. So many moments of our short life together come flooding back to me. I woke up on the street that day to you holding a violet over my face to wake me up. Words can’t express how much I wanted you to take me in your arms and carry me away to safety. I had hardly met you but quickly I knew you were something special. You so selflessly gave of yourself to me, saving my life, when even I didn’t think it worth saving. Claiming me as your wife to keep me from going to jail….. I could tell you had a good heart right from the start and I knew we were meant to be.
From the moment we entered the building where you lived that evening and we began ascending level by level up to your flat, my heart raced with anticipation to when I’d arrive in your place. We just kept ascending as if we’d go through the clouds. I wanted to go higher and higher and let the world drift away and be only with you. If only you knew the joy that you brought me as we entered into a new world together. You believed in life and its possibilities and it made me so excited. That night I undressed in your room and slipped into your bed while you were outside. I secretly wanted you to be near me and hold me close and tender. I hoped you would come into bed with me after you removed your pants and shirt. I peeked over the covers as you were undressing and saw your bare chest and it made my body flush. I wanted your body to lie next to mine and feel your skin against mine. I got up to peek around the corner and you were just so cute and sweet to be lying on the balcony. It was a rush of affection and joy through my body just to know that you respected me that way even though I was desperate for your warmth.
But now my dear I am beyond desperate. I haven’t seen you in so long and I long to feel your hands caress my hair and cheek, to feel your kiss on my lips, and to feel your body press against mine. Every moment I’m away from you is so hard. Every minute that passes without you near me is endless. I will simply die if you do not come back to me. Life cannot continue on this way without you. I have shed so many tears for you that I feel all of my tears have dried up and I am empty. Now my body aches and my eyes hurt every time I think of you. The tears will simply not flow and I am overcome by a black emptiness covering over me for which there is no respite.
When I came to you on the balcony dressed in my wedding dress I felt so glorious….and then you told me that you loved me for the first time. I was so happy. You remember how happy I was? I was so happy! And then I heard the sound of soldiers in the street. I didn’t want this to break us apart, but I tried to be strong for the both of us. And then you picked me up and kissed me and held me so close to you for so long and you were so strong holding me and I whispered things in your ear. And I wanted you to take me to bed right then and there. It was the most glorious and romantic moment of my life to be in your embrace. When you told me you wanted to marry me at that moment I was overcome with joy and feeling. I wanted us to be one, to be man and woman for eternity. We placed the necklaces over each other and promised to be true forever. I cherish that moment and the neckless hangs from my neck and dangles between my breasts this very moment. Come back to me Chico. Please with all your might come back to me my husband. You parted from me at 11am. And I think of you as if you were touching me and talking to me every day at 11am and I chant your name over and over and over again and speak to you out there wherever you are. If only you could be here with me. I can’t bear to think of where you are or what kind of danger you are in. I simply can’t begin to believe how awful it must be for you and how much you must be longing to touch me and be back here in our little heaven. I truly wish God’s angels to be surrounding you and protecting you. Believe me when I tell you we are shoulder to shoulder my love. I am working hard each day at the munitions factory. Somehow it helps to pass the time and I think that if I work hard enough it will bring you back to me.
Oh my dearest Chico I must finish this letter as it is late and tomorrow I must be at the munitions factory at dawn. Please write to me Chico. I miss you so desperately and I am being strong for you but I need you to return soon. I know that you will return to me and I believe with all my heart that this day will come soon for us. And on that day when you return to me oh how the glories of heaven will resound when we are rejoined. You must believe Chico. You must believe that our Love will bring you through any and all odds and nothing will keep us apart. Not even hell’s fury itself will be allowed to touch you. Our love is pure and true and righteous and I just know and believe that you will return. Please Chico….please return home soon.
I love you. I love you. I love you.
Diane
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Novel idea that captures the essence of true love. Borzage’s greatest film.
Thanks Frank. I actually wrote this while watching the movie. Interesting experience.
Beautiful presentation here Jon, and surely a creative and altogether moving way to express the intensity of the love shared between Diane and Chico. Surely one of the most romantic of films, and a silent era masterpiece that is Borzage’s most famous film, the film boasts some lovely performances from Janet Gaynor and Charles Ferrell. I always loved the small details like the coat stroking scene and the close-up of Gaynor’s face that dissolves into a ticking clock. Your letter wonderfully captures the essence of love (as Frank opines above), and your passionate regard is a thing of beauty.
Thanks Sam I’m glad you enjoyed it. I wrote the piece while watching it and found the film even more mesmerizing than last viewing. Hopefully the film still resonates with people, as Borzage deserves more credit. Gaynor and Ferrell are a pairing that stands with the best of all time in my estimation. Thanks!
Jon, I completely agree that Gaynor and Ferrell rate among the most passionate pairings ever. Absolutely.
Enjoyed your different approach here, Jon – the intensity of this film is really something and Farrell and Gaynor make a great couple. I do love Borzage and am delighted that another of his has made the list.
Oh good Judy glad you appreciated the writing and most happy you like the film. I wish there was a broader appreciation of Borzage but I think for now we’ll have to revel in these sorts of write-ups and tributes.
“Chico…Diane…Heaven!” I love this film, and intensely enjoyed your rendering of Diane’s thoughts. They strike me as what she would have felt. I have only one small caveat, in the scene where Chico and Diane have come into his eyrie for the first time and she’s preparing for bed. I think that she’d been so outrageously abused in her life that at that point she wasn’t eager for sexual contact…. she was passionately grateful for his respect of her privacy, and what she wanted was to heal in this place of safety. I’m always amazed at how much Gaynor could convey with a few delicate gestures and facial expressions…as when he matter-of-factly hands her the big nightgown!
I’m always surprised when critics are uncertain about the ending. They wonder, Was that man really Chico? Or part of her imagination? If it was Chico, how did a dead blind man find his way home alive, let alone shoot like an arrow up seven flights of stairs?
Of course it’s Chico! As for a miracle here and there, why not? “Chico…Diane…Heaven!”
Thanks Margaret I really appreciate your thoughts. I was reading into that scene and was wondering about whether she was truly a bit fearful or whether she wanted him in bed with her. There are subtle hints that could go both ways I thought. But of course it’s up for interpretation. I never even considered that it wasn’t Chico of course. Borzage made many films that have miraculous events and last minute miracles. It’s certainly in line with his works. I love the film and thanks for the comments!
Nifty concept, marvelously executed. This is Borzage’s best film. The romance is deep and it all leaves you shattered. Jon Warner has always been a terrific writer.