Rush 4: Wonderful Life

In the ending of It's A Wonderful Life, one interesting visual parallel that bridges the gap between the worlds of Bedford Falls and Pottersville occurs when George wipes away the snow and ice that covers the dates of his brother's brief life. The film had begun George's story by recounting how he saved Harry from drowning underneath ice, uncovering his body from the ice as it were. The way he uncovers the dates of birth and death from underneath the ice is a similar, parallel gesture, an altered allusion to that opening scene. It brings different meaning to the act of uncovering because here George is powerless, uncovering only the sad truth of death in a world without him. This is an allusion because it necessitates understanding of outside material, in this case not a proverb or a biblical story but a scene from earlier in the film. Like the critic referring to the crucifix in the context of two gangsters, the filmmakers allude to the earlier scene with this simple movement, and it becomes horrific in its new context.