Blue Jasmine

One of the best things of films of Woody Allen is that they possess a certain unique inertia, which can hardly be found in works of other filmmakers. Even at the age of 78 he comes with a beautiful film like "Blue Jasmine" which is driven by smartly written characters. Like many of his previous films, "Blue Jasmine" has smartly written female characters and 'Jasmine' played by Cate Blanchett is at its neurotic best - Its like eating a chocolate bar, you enjoy it till it lasts. No shocks. No Surprises. No melodrama. Just some brilliantly written characters playing on celluloid.

Husbands and Wives

I am not writing a review for Woody Allen’s film ‘Husbands and Wives’ nor am i married to write about issues of ‘Husbands and Wives’. This post is about the controversy created by media and feminists regarding the statement made by Shriprakash Jaiswal.  This is what Shriprakash Jaiswal said while addressing a cultural event.

“A new victory and a new marriage have their own importance. But as times passes, the memories of a victory go old and as time passes, a wife gets old, the same charm is not there”

Women organizations protested, they criticized and some even said that it’s “Commodification of Women” and should be charged under IPC. Let’s just replace the word ‘wife’ with ‘husband’ in the statement made by Shriprakash Jaiswal. It would be…

“A new victory and a new marriage have their own importance. But as times passes, the memories of a victory go old and as time passes, a husband gets old, the same charm is not there” 

Does the above statement create anger? For me, the above statement is more like a gimmick of a left-liberal- feminist standup comedian. If you have visited a pub or a bar where these days the so called female standup comedians perform their acts, every alternate joke is about boyfriends and husbands and if they are out of sexist jokes they shift their attention on Penis jokes. Of Course, the performance of so called ‘Desi’ female standup comedians is of gutter quality, but no one questions the sexist remarks made by them. Why?

Stardust Memories: The Overlooked Masterpiece

Yesterday i watched 'Stardust Memories' for the fourth time with microscopic eyes with some desire to find its nano faults and to understand why it has been profoundly underrated. Instead of i writing a boring post, i decided to present Woody Allen's 'Stardust Memories' with snapshots, videos and quotes. Help Yourself!

Fellinism :

The Garbage dump in the first scene.

Elephant-Childhood dream to get it as a birthday gift

Fond of magic since childhood.

Alternate Ending to movie by production company.

Bergmanism :

Beautiful shot with the mention of 'Hiroshima'.

The 64 seconds single close up shot.

The Robust closeup shots.

Politics :

Poster on the wall: His views against 'Vietnam War'.

When you told her that you had been a leftist.. and that you had been in jail, her mouth was hanging open. She's intensely middle-class, you know. I find that extremely difficult to swallow, even now. ~ Woody Allen

I can prove that if there's life anywhere else in the universe, they will have a Marxist economy ~ Some Idiot

Some Guy - Where do you stand politically?
Woody Allen: I'm for total, honest democracy, you know...and I also believe the American system can work.

Philosophy, Childhood etc...:

Superman in Childhood 

Concentrate on Background and Conversation.

with a desperate fan.

Childhood Memories.

Speech after a presumed death.

Sigmund Freud?

For me Stardust Memories is a masterpiece and a very hard film to be pulled off in such a remarkable fashion.

Shadows and Fog

It’s an irony that we have to watch the performances of artists like Mia Farrow, John Malkovich, John Cusack, Madonna and Woody Allen himself in the dark night accompanied by Shadows and fog. Woody Allen’s ‘Shadows and Fog’ is a delicious and unique version of homage to German Expressionism.

Kleinman (Played by Woody Allen) is awakened by a group of people who forcibly ask his help for catching the serial killer. Kleinman walks aimlessly around the streets, not knowing what to do. Irmy (Mia Farrow) and Paul (John Malkovich) are performers of a circus troop. Irmy is sword shallower and Paul is a clown. Imry leaves Paul after an altercation, as he is found in a compromising position with Marie (Madonna).

The funniest thing about Woody Allen works is his Farrago of women and sex. Apparently Irmy takes shelter in a brothel for a night as it is feared that the serial killer is roaming around the streets. Jodie Forster is one of the prostitutes in the brothel and here Woody comes up with an interesting conversation of Love and marriage among the prostitutes.

--Marriage. Let me tell you gals something about marriage.
You gotta work at marriage, like anything else.
--A good marriage takes a lot of work.
--When it starts feeling like work, it's over.
--It's all luck. We're all so dependent on luck.

 Jack (John Cusack) is a University student who visits the brothel with his friends. He sees Irmy and is attracted to her and makes an offer to sleep with her.

Jack: I'll give you anything you want.
Irmy: No, I'm just spending the night here.
Jack: Well, that's all I plan to do.

Jack: I'll give you $20.
Irmy: I'm afraid not.

Jack: $50.
Irmy: Sorry.

Jack: $100, $200..
Jack: I'll give you $500 to spend an hour with me.
Irmy: That is an exorbitant sum.
Jack: You're worth it.
Irmy: How do you know? I might be very disappointing.

Jack: 600. Cash.
Irmy: What's wrong with you? Can't you hear?

Jack: You're the most desirable woman I've ever met. I wanna make love to you. $700. You're really the most sensual woman I've ever seen. It's a quick $700.
Irmy: Let me see the $700. Can we use the back room?

 The conversation reminds me of ‘George Bernard Shaw’. There is a very gossamer relation between the two but for me it gives the vague hint of dichotomy on how Woody looks at female characters in his films.

George Bernard Shaw: Madam, would you sleep with me for a million pounds?
Woman: My goodness, Well, I'd certainly think about it.
Shaw: Would you sleep with me for a pound?.
Woman: Certainly not! What kind of woman do you think I am?!
Shaw: Madam, we've already established that. Now we are haggling about the price.

Irmy is caught in a police raid for not having a license and staying in a brothel. She meets Kleinman at the police station, later they both walk on streets. Kleinman asks her

“So when you have the sword down your throat,... what happens if you get hiccups?”

Even Kleinman visits the brothel to save himself from a violent mob who misunderstands him to be serial killer and here we see Woody Allen following the footsteps of the great Ingmar Bergman. Kleinman talks about Existentialism with Jack in the brothel. He talks about it with a dubious smirk and neurotic expression.

Jack: What are your views on divine matters?
Kleinman: Excuse me. Me?

Jack: I'm asking if you believe in God.
Kleinman: It's incredible. That's the third time tonight some body asked me that exact question.
--------
Kleinman: You doubt his existence and you can't make the leap of faith necessary.
I can't make the leap of faith to believe in my own existence.

(The beautiful conversation on Existentialism is deliberately trimmed.)

"Probably the greatest film artist, all things considered, since the invention of the motion picture camera"-- Woody Allen on Ingmar Bergman. Eventually Kleinman joins as an assistant to the magician Almstead of the circus troop. The serial killer is caught by Kleinman and the magician but he manages to escape.

The story ends without any information about the serial killer, he is free. Who knows may be the ‘serial killer’ character is just a MacGuffin which he picked from Alfred Hitchcock or just a tool to provide German Expressionism in the film. Woody Allen brilliantly uses the elements like noir, humour, intimacy, suspense, existentialism, MacGuffin, Voyeurism, Clairvoyance etc… in a single dark night with shadows and fog.

Originally published on Passionforcinema.com