Love, Life, Art, Philosophy: Initial Thoughts on "My Dinner with Andre"

A moment ago, I just finished watching "My Dinner with Andre" for the first time, and I wanted to write down a few things about it while it is fresh in my mind.

Few films come about in my mind right now where I will never forget how I felt the first time I watched it, "My Dinner with Andre" is one of those films. To me, it was so alive and vibrant, unlike any film I had ever seen, it struck thoughts and feeling within me that remain personal. The bulk of the film takes place in a restaurant, and very little action is done other than with dialogue. I'm not sure how cinematic "My Dinner with Andre" is as a film, but I'm not interested in that, I'm interested in what is said. Does "My Dinner with Andre" work as a film? It most certainly does, it's a piece of its own, no other film could dare repeat it without imitating it in some way, it's its own entity, a class by itself.

Probably the reason the film struck me in such a personal way was because I looked at the characters of Wally and Andre as people I know, their conversation and the way they reacted to eachother came very close to real life, don't you love it when film does that? I know many people are familiar with "My Dinner with Andre" and could say they share the same experiences, but for me right now, I feel like I made my own little discovery. I was barely a year old when the film was first released, I had always known about it through reputation, I knew it was about two men who sit in a restaurant, have dinner and have a conversation. I always thought it was such an intriguing subject for a film, and I knew some day I would have to see it. Thanks to the remarkable updated criterion release, I felt now was as better time as any. Now I wish I would've seen it years ago, there it was always available for me to see, and only now do I know what those other people must've discovered upon the film's initial release. What a joy it was to see two intelligent people having a whole intelligent discussion, every subject was so thought provoking, you couldn't help but ask questions yourself as the film kept going.

After so many dull movies at the theatre, it was nice to see something that was like a punch in the face, this was a wake up call, this is what films have the power to do, yet we waste our time on trivial blockbusters only meant to deafen us into submission. This was a thrilling yet quiet film, a study on character, on action and reaction, and on that lost art of listening. The two men in the film may not have matinee idol good looks, but they both have something to say, and what they have to say is more interesting and stimulating than anything I've seen in a long time.

I will probably write more on "My Dinner with Andre", I want to look at it some more, this was just some off the cough first impressions, in closing, I just watched a great film.

Survey

1) Second-favorite Stanley Kubrick film. Dr. Strangelove (1st is 2001)

2) Most significant/important/interesting trend in movies over the past decade, for good or evil. Many action films rely on fast paced cutting which turn the films into a giant blur

3) Bronco Billy (Clint Eastwood) or Buffalo Bill Cody (Paul Newman)? Can't say I'm familiar enough with either of these films or characters.

4) Best Film of 1949. Late Spring

5) Joseph Tura (Jack Benny) or Oscar Jaffe (John Barrymore)? Again I plead ignorance

6) Has the hand-held shaky-cam directorial style become a visual cliché? Only if you let it.

7) What was the first foreign-language film you ever saw? If I remember correctly, it was "The 400 Blows"

8) Charlie Chan (Warner Oland) or Mr. Moto (Peter Lorre)? Can't go wrong with Peter Lorre

9) Favorite World War II drama (1950-1970).The Great Escape

10) Favorite animal movie star. Asta

11) Who or whatever is to blame, name an irresponsible moment in cinema. Gus Van Sant remaking "Psycho".

12) Best Film of 1969. I'll go with "The Wild Bunch"

13) Name the last movie you saw theatrically, and also on DVD or Blu-ray. "Harry Potter" in theatres. "Mouchette" on DVD.

14) Second-favorite Robert Altman film. "The Long Goodbye" (1st MASH)

15) What is your favorite independent outlet for reading about movies, either online or in print? Don't have a preference.

16) Who wins? Angela Mao or Meiko Kaji? (Thanks, Peter!)Do not know.

17) Mona Lisa Vito (Marisa Tomei) or Olive Neal (Jennifer Tilly)? Tomei all the way!

18) Favorite movie that features a carnival setting or sequence. "Strangers on a Train"

19) Best use of high-definition video on the big screen to date. "Once"

20) Favorite movie that is equal parts genre film and a deconstruction or consideration of that same genre."Unforgiven"

21) Best Film of 1979. "Manhattan"

22) Most realistic and/or sincere depiction of small-town life in the movies."It's a Wonderful Life"

23) Best horror movie creature (non-giant division). Frankenstein

24) Second-favorite Francis Ford Coppola film. "The Godfather" (1st The Godfather Part 2)

25) Name a one-off movie that could have produced a franchise you would have wanted to see. "Miller's Crossing" I would've liked to have seen that Gabriel Byrne character again.

26) Favorite sequence from a Brian De Palma film.I'm a sucker for the "Scarface" finale.

27) Favorite moment in three-strip Technicolor. If "Vertigo" was is technicolor than Kim Novak coming out of the washroom as Jimmy Stewart's dead lover for the first time and they embrace. Perfection.

28) Favorite Alan Smithee film. (Thanks, Peter!)None

29) Crash Davis (Kevin Costner) or Morris Buttermaker (Walter Matthau)? Too close to call.

30) Best post-Crimes and Misdemeanors Woody Allen film. Match Point

31) Best Film of 1999. "The Insider"

32) Favorite movie tag line.Can't think of one

33) Favorite B-movie western.All the westerns I've seen I would grade as A

34) Overall, the author best served by movie adaptations of her or his work. John Grisham

35) Susan Vance (Katharine Hepburn) or Irene Bullock (Carole Lombard)? Impossible to choose.

36) Favorite musical cameo in a non-musical movie.The Yardbirds in "Blow-Up"

37) Bruno (the character, if you haven’t seen the movie, or the film, if you have): subversive satire or purveyor of stereotyping? No comment...Yet.

38) Five film folks, living or deceased, you would love to meet. (Thanks, Rick!)
Yasujiro Ozu, Frank Capra, Ernst Lubitsch, Francois Truffaut, John Ford.

Movies: Talk about the Passion

Few things get me more excited than seeing a movie, I'm aflutter with anticipation at the thought of watching one. It usually doesn't matter what time it is, or where I am, if someone asks me to watch a movie, I usually say yes.

Movies are the most popular artform out there today, a lot of people want to make movies, and now more than ever they have the equipment available for them to do it. Movies are being done today no only on 35mm but on 16mm or 8mm or on their ipods, or their cellphones. I'm not technologically advanced as some people, but if someone wanted to make a movie now, not much would be stopping them.

I've said before that most movies today don't interest me, that's not entirely true, I only wish the movies that do interest me are more available on the big screen, instead most people have to suffer through "Transformers" or some other ungodly film and then complain that it wasn't good.

The business of making films is perhaps what's wrong, how many times have you heard of filmmakers like Robert Altman or Francis Ford Coppola, or Steven Soderberg trying to get their personal projects off the ground? Well that's Hollywood. But really if there is something I've learned it's sometimes you can take that alternative route.

More and more now, filmmakers are finding new venues for their films, be it festivals, or youtube, or any other wonder I'm not aware of. There was a revolution that happened and just because we don't see it in our multiplex, doesn't mean it didn't have an impact.

Movies are all around us, I encourage you people to watch as many as possible and be inspired as I have throughout my life by them.

"The film of tomorrow seems to me therefore more personal even than a novel, individual and autobiographical, like a confession or like a personal diary. Young filmmakers will express themselves in the first person and will tell us what happened to them: it might be the story of their first love or of their most recent one, their finding a political consciousness, a travel journal, an illness, their military service, their marriage, their most recent vacation, and it will necessarily be likable because it will be true and new." Francois Truffaut



"Jules and Jim" one of the movies of my life.



"Lies" from the modern musical "Once" a little film that could.



The opening of "Contempt" by Jean-Luc Godard

Some Movies I've seen Recently

Summer movie season used to be my favorite movie season of the year, but as I mature I'm finding it harder and harder for films that are made for my sensibility. I've stayed away from most let's say forgettable blockbusters, however I did see a few that stuck out in my mind.

Up: Pixar's strongest feature yet featuring the adventures of a retired widower who flies his house with balloons to the island of Paradise Falls. A film that is full of bizarre giant birds and talking dogs with mechanical voices may not sound like really poignant stuff, but the film takes unexpected emotional turns while keeping with a clever sense of humour. By far the best film I've seen this year. 4 stars out of 4

The Hangover: A film that is very much about its journey rather than its destination. "The Hangover" takes a premise that has been done before about three guys who wake up the next morning and not remembering a single thing that happened the night before. They find many strange things, and the one thing they do notice is that one of their friends are missing. This is probably the funniest film I've seen this year along with "I Love You Man" and probably full of as many surprises as you would see in a great thriller. 4 stars out of 4

Drag Me to Hell: Sam Raimi's exercise in horror is my idea of a fun time at the movies. Poor Alison Lohman plays a bank clerk who denies an evil gypsy an extra loan on her house, and she is then cursed to be "dragged to hell". Raimi has such a smart subversive sense of humour, it was just fun watching a horror movie, that was all about the scare factor. The premise is thin, but Raimi makes it all worthwhile. 3.5 stars out of 4

Jeremy and the Movies: The Return of the Blog

For those of you, who were beginning to lose faith, do not worry, I have returned. I had to take a long sabbatical from my blog writing to focus on more pressing issues in my life, but now I am back and better than ever. I intend to continue writing in my blog on a regular basis with a few changes in mind. Those changes will become evident in the weeks to come, however one big change is that I've decided to forgo my usual "Director of the Month" series. However do not worry, if you think I've simply chosen to ignore masters such as Bunuel, Bergman, Fellini, Chaplin, Scorsese and others, think again. I just wanted to explore their work on a wider canvas, and by doing away with my Director's series I hope to do that more.

As for now, I thank those loyal readers for sticking with me these past few weeks, and do not fear, I shall return to my old glory very soon.