Rifkin's Festival

Woody Allen is no longer in style, but his autobiographical ironic love for the history of film and film festivals is almost genius. Everything works as always, and from the first shot, everything is intimately familiar and nothing is surprising. The characters go through different situations, for which it is important to name everything properly. And as if that were not enough, there is a whole series of black and white dream sequences that cinephiles can enjoy, but I am afraid that the average viewer will not appreciate it as much. Especially if all those famous tips of the iceberg like Jules & Jim or Breathless. And unfortunately, that's the case; if people take those film studies teachings too seriously, they are very likely to not shine in society, but become oddities. That is a realization I share with Woody. (17.01.2023)

Wallace Shawn in the main role didn't sit well with me, I'd prefer more of a poisonous Woody alter ego, like Larry David in Whatever Works. However, I liked the film and I didn't even feel like Woody Allen was stealing, because he was dealing with what he had done several times (if not many times), but he went about it a little differently. This time in the form of therapy and with a great idea to show the hero's ideas in the style of films that he loves. So, I learned that even hypochondria can be good if you have a beautiful reason for it, and that Death gives you the best advice for life (with Christoph Waltz's face). (21.10.2021)