wild 4 woody

Free from the constraints of early tuesday mornings (ah holidays, i love you!) i have finally been able to attend a Luna Movie Double in its entirety - and what a way to live the dream too, with a beautiful Woody Allen double, a delicious peppermint choc-top and some good people including caroline, mark & ro. Before I dive into snoozeville, I wanted to jot down my reactions to these films - & I’m not talking polished, retrospective criticism, but just my instantaneous emotional response.

Annie Hall was up first, and, yes, I loved it. I found the story rich, relatable, and memorable, and the central relationship compelling in its genuine chemistry. As I drove home I replayed some favoured moments in my mind and found myself smiling, remembering Anne’s awkwardly misplaced laughter, that silly juxtaposition between their two families (Alvy’s family, like mine, is zany and obnoxious), and that bit where Alvy describes relationships as sharks (they must constantly "move forward, or die"). Still, even though I laughed a lot during this film, I wouldn’t describe it as a major lol-fest; rather, it’s a case of finding the humour touching (or ‘eerie’ even) in its accuracy. In the end, I’d describe the film as joyous, as a loving tribute to a complicated relationship. I’m excited about watching it again.

Conversely, Manhattan troubled me. Yes I found it interesting, but I had some major issues with the female characters. To me they seemed to devolve into vacuous passivity, becoming mere facilitators or ciphers (I guess mainly I am talking about the Tracy character here). I felt as if Woody too had lost a bit of his charm (though maybe that’s the effect of the double bill?) becoming at best a little annoying, and at worst a little misogynistic. Knowing about his personal life also made the relationship with Tracy a little problematic. I’ve heard so many great things about the film, though, I’ve heard it described a romantic triumph (plus Mark's a fan, and I'm a fan of Mark?), and so I wonder if this is classic me, "destroying love with over-analysis." This was Koko’s argument anyway, when I came home and tried to share the view with her, but of course she would say that (because she's a butt). Also, I think Annie Hall would obviously be more of an 'instant pleaser': so perhaps Manhatten is the fine wine of the film world?! ANYWAY, I’d love to hear other people’s opinions on this one.

IN OTHER NEWS:
My wonderful friend Liz has an amazing blog worth checking out! It is over-flowing with inspirational creativity – watch out for the “daydream project” in particular, through which she transforms some mental wanderings into something very beautiful. Yay for Liz! Gosh, I know some pretty amazing people, it is true!

x magda