As a technical exercise, this is truly astonishing:
Category: Legacy
Early Woody Allen mockumentary short I watched to compare to later mockumentary Zelig. Very jokey and political. A few moments made me laugh — e.g. a congressional inquiry about the Boy Scouts to parody the hunt for Communists, and a garbled monologue about “winning war or winning peace.” Many of the references are too timely to resonate today. I did enjoy the early Diane Keaton sighting, though.
Given the movie’s place in Allen’s filmography — right after Annie Hall, Manhattan, and Stardust Memories — it’s not hard to see why this movie was met with “that’s all?” skepticism. It’s a lightweight, bed-swapping romantic farce set in the early 20th century. But the film’s control of tone and playful storytelling is really charming. The acting is excellent, and the whole experience is brisk and pleasant, with a surprisingly optimistic thematic backbone: the past is past, and we should celebrate the things we have.
Given how self-focused his work is, Allen’s directorial voice works well with meta hijinks. The movies and movies-within-the-movie blend elliptically, rendering romance into a confusing, dreamlike haze. Stardust Memories is not particularly fun, but certainly beautiful, and, in my eyes, truly great.
Filmmaking of an exquisite order, with the huge wart on its ass of idealizing romance between a 42-year-old man and 17-year-old girl without guilt or investigation.
Manhattan is a love letter to NYC featuring 5-star beauty and filmmaking, a great script, a phenomenal soundtrack… and a horrid male gaze that makes it tough to give a rating to.
Categories
American Graffiti (1973)
More American Graffiti is far more insane and audacious than I ever possibly imagined. Like truly batshit.
Lovely pastoral animation and scenes, amazing character/creature design, unrelenting childlike whimsy, slight current of darkness. An absolutely amazing charmer.
Jun 2021 update:
I will cherish the memory of my 19-month old longingly shouting “Cat bus again! Cat bus again!” whenever the cat bus goes off screen.
Jan 2022 update:
All of us were tired and this was the only thing we could agree to watch. Our third time in about half a year.
My focus this time around: I love how fuzzy the border is between fantastical reality vs. dreams/imagination run wild in this movie. It really captures the refracted way kids experience reality.
Put another way: Do the Totoros unequivocally “exist” every time we see them? Or are they an imagined coping mechanism for two girls with a sick mom going through massive life changes?
There are just enough physical cues that they are “real” for that to be a clear fact of the movie, but just few enough that you can make the case that they are a shared figment of imagination. E.g: the final cat bus rescue could be a panicked fugue state for Mei and Satsuki; Totoro in the rain at the bus stop could be a stress delusion for Satsuki; etc.
Even the kids’ shared vision of the Totoros is somewhat explicable in this lens; if you’ve ever had close cousins or siblings, you might remember how vivid and detailed your shared pretend-time could be, as if you were both experiencing something “real” that was in each of your respective heads.
I don’t think the movie wants us to think that, but I also don’t think the movie shuts the door on that interpretation. Art, man.
Masterful filmmaking, filled with hilarious and evocative and creative moments, elliptical time-hop editing, and zingers. Too bad Allen’s persona is so damn neurotic and unlikeable — ruins the fun for me and suppresses the Is It Good? rating by a point.
Short and good-natured, but the physical comedy really shines. I particularly marveled at the rocking set on the boat — some next level stuff for more than a century ago. Great slapstick.