"New York Stories" - (1988)

This film is composed of 3 separate vignettes by 3 of the greatest directors of our time. I first saw it in 1990 when it was on the shelf at a local library in Maryland, where I was living at the time. I have not seen it anywhere since then; certainly never on television, cable or otherwise. This copy turned up at a used book store in South Charlotte, and for the princely sum of $4 I took it home.

The first of the vignettes is called “Life lessons” and stars Nick Nolte; before the infamous mug shot; as a crazed and passionate artist named Lionel Dobie. He feeds off of his assistants in a never ending cycle of narcissism. As an important exhibition nears he finds himself unable to paint as he battles for the affections of his assistant Paulette; played by Roseanna Arquette; with whom he is besotted. Complicating matters is her relationship with Steve Buscemi, who plays a scheming performance artist. The relationship between Nolte and Arquette forms the core of the story, until she leaves and he continues the cycle with his next assistant. This film was directed by Martin Scorsese.

“Life without Zoe” is directed by Francis Coppola. It is the story of a young named Zoe; played by Heather McComb; a  girl left to raise herself while her parents travel the world. When they come home she is the one with the routine; the de-facto parent. Her parents are worldly and successful in their separate careers, but it is Zoey who is really the only thing that holds them together. In the end you have to wonder if they need her more than she needs them. There is also a sub plot in which she helps to return a piece of stolen jewelry which was given to her father to its rightful owner; an Arab Prince. This film shows a side of Manhattan that still exists today; the world of money and privilege to which we would all love to belong; or maybe not.

Woody Allen’s offering is “Oedipus Wrecks” starring Mr. Allen, as Sheldon, and Julie Kavner, as a psychic named Treva , before Marge Simpson; and with Mia Farrow as his fiancée; before the sordid allegations. Mr. Allen basically plays himself as a neurotic man. When his deceased mother won't leave him alone he complains to his shrink. When he gets engaged to Mia Farrow his mother takes to the skies above the city to enlist the publics help in stopping her son from ruining his life. When he sees a psychic to try and deal with his mother, he finds that he like her, and soon finds himself in a relationship with a woman who not only understands him, but also becomes friends with his mother. And though his mother may approve of the girl, how does that affect his perspective of the relationship? This is the type of Grade A comedy and wit you expect of Mr. Allen. Just scratch past the surface and I believe there is more than a bit of auto-biography going on here.

This is a wonderfully creative effort by 3 great directors who normally create feature length films. For established professional like these three, working within a limited time frame can sometimes be a liberating thing.

"To Rome With Love" - Woody Allen, Roberto Benigni, Alec Baldwin and Penelope Cruz (2012)

Sue, as a rule, does not care for Woody Allen films. That is until recently when she viewed “Midnight in Paris”, Mr. Allen’s last film. I still haven’t seen that one. (I seem to be stuck on “Whatever Works”).  But this latest release by the iconic writer, comedian, actor and director appealed to us both. So, on a hot summer afternoon, (100 degrees plus), we sought the comfort of a dark, cold theater to spend a few hours in another world, viewing other people’s lives. As usual, at least for me, I was not disappointed. As for Sue, she was delighted with this quirky, off beat film, which is really a love poem to Rome.

The film follows 5 couples; if you count the parents; as one set of prospective in laws, who are American, are about to meet their Italian counterparts. What follows is too complicated to put down here with any justice, so you’ll just have to see the film.

Director Allen states in an interview with McClatchy Newspaper’s Rene Rodriguez, that he had several stories to tell, and so he was “.. so inspired that I couldn’t figure out which story to tell…. Finally I decided to make one movie with a lot of stories in it.” The result is a sprawling, yet connected set of stories intertwined by love, fate, and in some cases stuff seemingly out of left field, but based on the reality we all live.

Roberto Benigni is brilliant as the ordinary man, who suddenly finds himself the center of media attention, where all his movements are scrutinized and his privacy invaded. He is incensed at the turn of events; and has no idea of why he is suddenly famous; but when it is all taken away; his feelings are of being abandoned for a talent he knows he never possessed in the first place.

Alec Baldwin does a superb job as a successful architect returning to Italy, where he once studied, and through a chance encounter meets a young American architect student who lives in the same street where he used to live. He sees himself in the choices being made by the younger man, and I was left wondering whether those sequences were merely in his own mind.

Throw in the antics of two sets of prospective in laws, and the problems engendered by their children as they continue to discover themselves, and this film works on many levels. Woody Allen is at his all-time best in this one, where he basically plays himself. Just a hint at part of his role; he’s the one responsible for the short lived career of a mortician who can only perform opera in public while taking a shower. If that doesn’t get you to see this film, I give up.

Another wonderfully entertaining film from one of the best; and by the way; he’s from Brooklyn.

"Whatever Works" with Evan Rachel Wood, Larry David, and Ed Begley, Jr.

Genius writing, along with genius acting, make for a wonderful film experience in this 2009 Woody Allen comedy. This is one of his best films ever, stepping back behind the camera to write and direct, which is what he has always done best. And using Larry David in the role which Mr. Allen had originally intended for Zero Mostel, makes the movie all that much better.(The script was begun with Mostel in mind, but shelved after Mr. Mostel's death in 1977.)

The character of Boris Yellinkoff, played by Larry David, is the main vehicle for this story, and employing the old technique of having him talk directly to the audience, even as the "live" action of the film continues to roll, makes this a very comical, and unusual, film experience.

Boris begins his tale of Doom and Gloom, meeting daily with his friends for coffee, after having failed at a suicide attempt, and losing his wife to divorce. He has given up on everything. He is a bitter old man. That is, until he comes home one evening and finds Melodie St. Ann Celestine, played by Evan Rachel Wood, sitting in the alley by his stairwell.

Boris is kind of like many middle aged men, ranting at the changes in society, and bemoaning the lost years of his earlier life. He is cynical to a fault, and finds himself at odds with those who cannot see the truth, as defined by Boris. Basically, he believes in nothing. We know all of this because Boris never stops talking, even to the audience, as he narrates the story.

Here is a typical quote, "My father committed suicide because the morning newspapers depressed him. And could you blame him? With the horror, and corruption, and ignorance, and poverty, and genocide, and AIDS, and global warming, and terrorism, and the family value morons, and the gun morons. "The horror," Kurtz said at the end of Heart of Darkness; "the horror." Lucky Kurtz didn't have the Times delivered in the jungle."

Prior to the arrival of Melodie in his life, Boris had been a Professor of Quantum Mechanics at Columbia University. He was an expert in the "string" theory. At one point he attempted suicide by jumping out the window of his apartment, only to land on the front lobby canopy, resulting in a permanent limp. He then divorces his wife, quits his job, gives up their beautiful apartment, and takes a back alley dive as his residence.

So, when Melodie Ann shows up, he is immediately skeptical of her motives, and her story. But, a human being is a human being, so Boris takes her in, setting off an intellectual dilemma as he begins to turn her world views into his own cynical interpretation of life. Will that cynicism take root? Or will young Melodie's air of confidence serve to help them both find their individual ways?

When Melodie's eccentric and strange mother, Marietta, played by Patricia Clarkson, shows up, things get even stranger. And Boris' friends can't believe the change in Boris.

But complications arise, as they always do, and Boris, formerly a difficult and misunderstood man, seems to change. I won't tell you what happens between him and Melodie. You need to watch the film to find out. But here are two lines, including the last one from the film, that I hope will inspire you to see this movie.

Boris Yellnikoff: Love, despite what they tell you, does not conquer all, nor does it even usually last. In the end the romantic aspirations of our youth are reduced to, whatever works.

Boris Yellnikoff: See, I'm the only one who sees the whole picture. That's what they mean by genius.