Wild Man Blues

This is a documentary account of Allen's tour of Europe with his New Orleans jazz band. Barbara Kopple directs effectively and seems to have the ability to be there at the crucial moment without the scenes looking staged or faked. I do not know if the film is a deliberate attempt to counter the bad publicity Allen received over his affair with the teenage Soon-Yi. Certainly the now 27 year-old Soon-Yi appears to be the dominant one of the partnership like a kindly but strict mother controlling the behaviour of her naughty child. I particularly enjoyed the breakfast scene in Madrid where she gently scolds Allen for not showing sufficient appreciation to the members of his band. She orders Spanish omelette because it seems to be the appropriate thing to have and then makes Allen eat it because it tastes like rubber. The final scene is fascinating with Allen and Soon-Yi back in New York visiting Allen's parents, both in their 90s. Both parents are dismissive of Allen's achievements and his mother confesses that she wanted him to marry a nice Jewish girl.

Allen's clarinet playing is variable. He seems to be having trouble with his reed throughout the tour. On good nights he sounds like a reasonable George Lewis imitator, on a bad night in Paris he could barely coax a note out of his instrument. The audiences loved him apart from a bejewelled invited audience in Rome that clapped politely and sat wearing bemused smiles throughout the performance

Woody Allen and the New Orleans Jazz Band set out on a tour of eighteen cities in seven countries in Europe. Accompanying them is Barbara Kopple, who has been given total access to the musician and filmmaker Allen as he does the shows and the time in between. The end result is a documentary that takes in Allen's love for this rather `crude' form of jazz but also allows for some insights into his personal life, his relationship with Soon Yi and his famous obsessions and neuroses.

I bought this film as a Woody Allen fan and as someone who, while not a fan, certainly enjoys a bit of old fashioned jazz music on a hot sunny night. For both these reasons I enjoyed this film, even though the description of it as a `documentary' is maybe not the most fitting as it implies a certain amount of probing into the subject. Rather than digging, Kopple basically just seems to point the camera and leave it running. She doesn't really ask any questions of Allen or his family and seems content to let him and his companions just talk freely - it made me wonder how many countless hours of footage she must have shot to come up with what she uses here. So if you are looking for insight in Allen then you won't get it here. Likewise, if you are looking for a great deal of discussion or insight into the music then you'll be let down; in this area Kopple also mostly just films the band playing.

That is not to say that the film is bad, because it isn't, but there isn't a great deal of substance to it unless you are Woody Allen fan. As a fan, there isn't a great deal of insight into Allen's life or situation - the conclusion we are left with is no more of an understanding than we started with, that he is a witty little man who is filled with little complexes and neuroses while also being a very private person. The value of the film is that we actually get to see that during the course of the movie. Allen is funny and quite relaxed but a `real' documentary would have pushed harder into the darker issues of Allen's life - many viewers will be annoyed by how the film just accepts Soon Yi without ever really asking any questions or even hinting at the many issues behind their relationship.

Overall I enjoyed this film but then I like Woody Allen's humour and was interested to seeing if his onscreen personae is similar to his real life character. However it isn't really insightful and it is only a scene near the end with Allen and his parents (yeah - I was surprised they were still alive too!) that gives a little background and is interesting. A light, witty and quite enjoyable film but I can't imagine that anyone other than fans of Woody Allen and jazz will get a great deal from this.

I really love this movie. Woody Allen appears as a very nice man. Other comments are very right, referring to his movie Stardust Memories. I think it's a little bit sad that all these people wants to see him because he's a famous actor and director, and not because of the music he and his partners seems to love so much. That happens to be my favorite kind of jazz (Jelly Roll Morton! Yeah!) and the band are doin' it in a very attractive way. This movie should be just about music.

Here is the famous filmmaker-actor-comedian in a forthright documentary of his touring jazz-band. It's not really his band – but for all intents and purposes it may as well be. If it weren't for Woody this band would just be another New Orleans jazz style band. They certainly wouldn't fill any concert halls across Europe (in fact they wouldn't be there at all).

We see a lot of Woody and Soon Yi in candid conversations – many of them in lavish hotel rooms in Europe (I am not kidding – one has a private swimming pool!). There is a sequence at the end with Woody's parents' in Brooklyn – this is hilarious and looks like it is straight out of one of his films. I have to admit that Woody is quite gracious with his fans who obviously adore him. If you're a fan in any way this is recommended, its' Woody as cinema verite. The only complaint I have is too many performances of the jazz-band.

This film provides a deeper insight into Woody Allen's private life, not to mention a treat for anyone who loves old New Orlean's jazz.

What I found most interesting was seeing Woody Allen as he really is which isn't much different from his characters in his movies. His interactions with people, his humor, his moods, his explanations of himself, seeing his interaction with his parents.

It was very real. Very human. Just what you'd expect from Woody Allen.

Some key quotes:

His wife, Soon yi said: "When she came to see you play, she said that's the most movement she's seen from you from the whole time she's known you."

Woody: "The most movement? What does she expect? I mean, I'm not gonna bob my head and tap my feet when I'm talking about politics or literature or something. I'm not going to keep time. Right? Be reasonable. I'm appropriately animated for a human in the context within which I exist."

Lady: "You are so intelligent. You are so happy to be so intelligent." Woody (jokingly): "Well, yes. It is a burden though sometimes. With this much intelligence comes great responsibility. You know. It's lonely at the top."

In the hotel restaurant walking around: "Oh, there's the band. Oh, my goodness, they're eating like their going to the 'chair'."

"Whenever I travel, I always have to have my own bathroom because I'm crazy. So I always wind up taking an extra room or an extra suite of rooms. Then I can place around all my unctions and vanishing creams and the cosmetics that give me this look."

With his wife at breakfast in their Milan hotel: "You know, this being Milan, I hope our laundry doesn't come back breaded."

"I've got the kind of personality that when I'm here (Europe) I miss New York and when I'm in New York I miss Europe. I just don't like being where I am at any given moment. I would rather be somewhere else. So you know there's no way to beat that problem because no matter where you are, you know what I mean, it's chronic dissatisfaction."

In London with a bad cold: "What a drag. I was looking forward to giving a good show tonight. I don't want to just go out there and make an achievement till I get through the show. I want the show to be very good cause if I'm not good, these people will hate me in my own language."