Still time to make that film about several old guys getting together in New York - Allen, Alda, Waterson, Murphy, Roberts, Shawn. Maybe all chasing Diane Keaton. I'm in.
Rifkin's Festival doesn't seem to be out in NZ yet though A Rainy Day in New York is on AppleTV so I don't see any reason for it not to come out here eventually. No signs of a theatrical release either.
Definitely some valid criticisms there to be aware of, folks. Remember, I said it was "probably not" a good film (so I didn't exactly give it a rave) and Shawn was the first criticism I leveled. So there was some common ground. I'll beat Ray up offline and have him waving the white flag on this in no time, people.
I wish that I had something to add on Rifkin's Festival...I haven't seen it yet. I did re-watch A Rainy Day in New York with my mother, who rented it on her own. First off, she enjoyed it very much--she is a longtime fan who actually took me to see Annie Hall in the theater when I was six. Secondly, I still enjoyed pieces of the movie very much. I found the scene with his obnoxious friend Troller to be hilarious both times. I think the scene with Selena Gomez in her parents' apartment is beautiful. A LOT of the movie doesn't completely work but I probably enjoyed it more the second time around. Just some thoughts...everyone stay safe and happy.
Haven't seen "Rifkin" either (which i could).. re: "Rainy Day in NY"- i definitely enjoyed it better the second time, maybe when I realized that the whole "Timothee C. throwing out references to Irving Berlin, Hemingway etc., was 'a feature, not a bug'...
We really enjoy most of Woody's movies, but we couldn't get through Rainy Day. Turned it off about 2/3 through. It seemed like a stereotype of most of Woody's characters played by a lifeless young actor, Timothee Chalamet. I may take advice and re-watch, but maybe not.
I did finish it, and it stayed boring. It has nothing to add to his work, not even one funny one-liner or interesting conflict or crisis.
As i think i posted previously, my first viewing of 'rainy day in new york' was disappointing- but i went back and watched it a few weeks later and liked it a lot more. The whole subplot with Cherry Jones was really interesting, i thought. I really wish I could see 'Rivkin' (i guess the only completed film of Woody's that i havent seen?) but i guess i'll have to wait till it is 'released' on streaming or something here in the states, if it ever is. I wonder if Woody will be able to get back to filmmaking. Seems that Europe is his primary funding these days, but I think (and i could be wrong?) that continental Europe is behind the US when it comes to dealing with covid these days? Things are not exactly normal in NYC here, but increasingly, as more of us get vaccinated, glimmers of 'normal' seem on the horizon.
Just one man's opinion, but don't get your hopes up too high for "Rifkin's Festival". For me, it falls into the bottom 10% of his films. Unless something has changed, there is already financing in place in Europe for the next film, as I recall. Just a matter of being able to travel and being able to film.
In a certain alternate universe, and perhaps (tho my lips are sealed) as Tennessee w. once said, due to the "kindness of strangers", its possible that in that theoretical universe that I may have just seen Rifkin's Festival- and largely, I agree with what mr jinks has said. The added benefit of hearing first how bad it was from several sources, led me (in this hypothetical universe, mind you) to expect the worst, and yeah, some things are awkward and not well-thought out... but but but , when there were some flashes of the old Woody in there and some fun 'spins back to old cinema classics', there were many wonderfully charming moments. On the whole, while yeah, it doesn't 'really work' so well, there are some great moments, and some nice wisdom at the end, with a little shout out to a certain Swedish icon, too. (This is all purely in theory, of course )
I watched Rifkin’s Festival last night. It’s pretty much everything you would expect from late-period Allen. Lovely cinematography, a few good one-liners, and the usual stylistic tics. He just can’t help himself when it comes to knocking in a nail with a sledgehammer. Yes, we get that Mort is an intellectual snob of a film critic. No need to labour the point by referencing as many of the classic, European arthouse directors as Allen was able to shoehorn into the dream sequences. It’s a knowing wink from Allen to the peanut gallery, but an unnecessary one at this stage in his career, and it gets tiring after a while. Yes, the relationship between Mort and the lovely Dr. Jo is completely unbelievable, even as it goes nowhere fast. But that’s nothing new for Allen. It’s something that’s gotten worse over the years, but you can trace these unbelievable relationships with younger women back at least as far as Manhattan — a film that many hold in high esteem, but which I have always found unbearably creepy. Overall, Rifkin’s Festival plays out like a gentler, middle-aged version of Vicky Cristina Barcelona. I enjoyed it more than A Rainy Day in New York, mostly because the cast is better, and because the dialogue is much more natural. Allen writes best about what he knows, and for his own age group. This is certainly no masterpiece, but it’s pleasant enough fluff, which doesn’t outstay its welcome. I tend to be quite forgiving of even his weakest work, mind.
I have to say that I enjoyed this. Not in the way I enjoyed Annie Hall, Hannah or Manhattan (or even Manhattan Murder Mystery), but it ticks so many Woody boxes (and manages to have two innapropriate reationships to wind up people who damn all his movies for that sort of thing - even those that don't have them...). I like the way he plays with time and dreams by referencing the style and mise-en-scene of 'arthouse' films; I like the way he plays with fate. The cinematography is stunning and there are some clever one-liners, though no belly laughs for those who prefer the earlier, funnier movies, but, you know... I did prefer it to Rainy, but that has Timothy Chalamet's performance/personality as a major sticking point. Or... maybe I was just seduced by a 'nice' mature film
I gave "Rifkin's Festival" a second viewing. I liked it better the second time through. It still won't, to quote Woody, cause anyone to start any new religions. It's "comic" moments are more amusing than funny. I agree with Mr. J. that the subtitled jokes in the Swedish sequence are probably the two best jokes in the movie. I like the Hannah Arendt joke at the very start of the movie, but maybe just because I'm proud of myself for knowing the reference. I still think Wallace Shawn is horribly miscast, and in an alternate time line if this movie was written and filmed in the 1980s with Woody in the title role it would have worked very well. Here, the "romance" is so improbable that even one of the characters (or the actress playing her) doesn't seem to ever buy into even the possibility. Causing that portion of the film (which is the biggest portion of the film) to fizzle out. A couple minor things that bothered me the second time that I didn't catch the first - the actress playing Mort's grammar school English teacher can't hide her Spanish accent very well, and Mort goes to a cardiologist (That does appear on the plaque outside her office, doesn't it?) for a heart issue ... but then plots to go back, first for a skin blemish and then for a ringing in his ears. What cardiologist sees people for those conditions?
Another funny bit I didn’t catch the first time ... Mort going on about Japanese films while everyone gapes at him silently has audio crossfaded into the next (outdoor) scene, and the predominant sound is crickets. (drum fill)
I'm guessing I'm missing something obvious here, but.....what do crickets have to do with Japanese films? (maybe there's some reference i'm not getting?) Interesting thought, the 'if this had been made in the 80's and Woody had starred....' (and the whole film festival thing, of course, was dealt with too in one of his stronger, tho stranger, films 'stardust memories'.
Just to play devil’s advocate for a moment, Mort says he grew up in the Bronx, presumably in the 1950s. As a New Yorker yourself, I don’t need to point out the large Hispanic and Latino population in that part of the city. Is it not possible he had a teacher who was not of 100% Northern European, or Jewish, origin? Yes, the actress is Spanish. Of course, she is. But I didn’t react to her accent with incredulity. It is what it is. Not so hugely out of time and place as to stretch the bounds of believability. Yes, the plaque outside her office states her expertise in matters of the heart (except for love, of course). And yes, the follow-up appointments for minor, unrelated ailments are an issue as far as believability is concerned. Even with an initial referral from a friend of the doctor, you’d struggle to get past the receptionist with that time-wasting crap. Spain has a very good healthcare system, both public and private, but there’s never any talk of payment for all these visits to Dr. Jo. As a non-European visitor, Mort would at least have to have some sort of insurance that covered his stay in the country. Either that, or he’d have to go private. Maybe the doctor is seeing him for free, as a favour to her friend? Only really possible if she’s a private specialist. In Woody’s upper middle class world, whether in Spain or Manhattan, this kind of stuff is rarely an issue. To change the subject, I seem to be the only one who finds the arthouse dream sequences in this film to be heavy-handed and overly obvious. I guess none of us turn to Woody for subtlety, but do we really need his influences handed to us on a plate time after time? At first, I found the Citizen Kane thing cute, especially when they moved inside to that deep focus shot through the window. But by the time we got to The Exterminating Angel, I was rolling my eyes. I love Buñuel as much as the next guy, maybe more. Welles, too. And Bergman. You get the idea. I don’t feel the need to push that stuff down people’s throats, just like Mort does with Japanese cinema at the dinner party. I know we have a couple of fellow Dylan fans here. For me, the dream sequences remind me of when bad Dylan commentators, such as Clinton Heylin, can’t help paraphrasing lyrics every two sentences, to show off and throw a bone to the reader at the same time. It gets old very quickly.
I know what you mean about Shawn, but now I want to add him to my cast for one last great Woody New York film with Woody, Alda, Murphy, Roberts, Keaton, Benjamin and Lasser. Now if Shawn had been watching Shane on the flight home, that might have tipped the scales further in its favour.
It's also interesting how much it mocks certain popular ideas about Woody. Here, the younger woman/older guy thing doesn't work out - but the reverse works for his wife; the 'arthouse' film lover (dressed in Woody combat jacket) comes off as pretentious - though, of course, Woody uses his love/knowledge of arthouse cinema to show this.
I can't say if this is the original source, but it's certainly the first time that I was aware of "crickets" in cinema (Daffy's energetic dance is cut for time by the uploader).
Yeah, we'll disagree on the Spanish accent. "Mrs. Weinstein" from the Bronx in the early 1950s with a Spanish accent?, one in a thousand chance at best. The part wasn't big enough to be cast in the United States, clearly, but that doesn't mean they couldn't have found a Spanish actress who could hide her accent better. Regarding the homages (or parodies if you will) of Mort's favorite films - my feeling was that most of these sequences don't stand well on their own. Without the knowledge of what's being referenced, most of them are befuddling I'd bet. Yes, Woody's hardcore audience is going to get all the references (along with the Hannah Arendt and Eichmann jokes) but an average audience in 2021 is lucky to catch a few. I got an unintended chuckle out of the fact that the Bergman bit was already done by Woody "straight" to a degree in "Interiors".
As I think Mr. J. pointed out, the director has an awful lot of the Lester character from "Crimes and Misdemeanors" in him. Spoiler And just like the pretentious and obnoxious Lester, he wins the girl from the man with the higher brow love for "art".
