Sombras y niebla

Another mid-career Allen film unfairly dismissed both by critics and (I must admit) myself at the time of it's release. Sometimes with great filmmakers, we get spoiled and anything flawed or less than pure genius gets maligned for being weaker than that filmmaker's very best work instead of being appreciated for being miles ahead of most of the films that get made.

I was shocked at how much better I liked this on a recent re-viewing almost 20 years after seeing it in the theater. Yes, the super-star cameos still seem a bit distracting and self-serving, but nowhere near as much as in 1992. Yes, some plot elements work better than others, the ending is kind of clunky, etc. But this is still a great-looking, visually dense film, that manages to tread (most of the time) a very difficult tightrope of being funny and playful, while still exploring disturbing themes of paranoia, guilt, crowd mentality, religion, etc. Certainly not a great film, but a brave one more worthy of being enjoyed for it's strengths than attacked for its admitted shortcomings.

Shadows and Fog

starring: Woody Allen, Michale Kirby, Mia Farrow, and John Malkovich

In a small european like town, lives a very nervous clerk, who out of nowhere is awaken by a group of Vigilantes who are after a serial killer in the town who strikes in the fog at night. Klienman on the way meets a dark adventure with twists, turns, suspenseful encounters with the killer himself, a few lusty whores, a female sword swallower wanting a family, a Gifted investagator using primitive techniques, and a drunk but effective magician.

Coments: I feel that this film is very UNDERrated. It is a very good film in my opinoin. Here Woody Allen creates a totally new type of meaning to the words: Adventure and Nostalgia. With a whole ensemble of celebrites, and a dark mood and setting, this is one of Allens greatest films. ****

I like Woody Allen's "Shadows and Fog" and I think it is seriously underrated. Shot in a beautiful B/W this surreal Comedy / Mystery / Drama / Thriller takes place in a small town somewhere in the Eastern Europe between two World Wars where a mysterious maniac stranglers the people all over the town. Since the local police proved to be helpless, the citizens form vigilance committees and a small timid insignificant bookkeeper Kleinman (his name is translated as "Little Man") is recruited to search for a murderer in the dark night full of shadows and fog. Allen parodies German Expressionists (Fritz Lang), Franz Kafka, and Ingmar Bergman ("Magician") in this funny, scary, warm, dark, surreal, and dramatic film that he saw as a metaphor for humanity, as we all muddle through the murk and attempt to find meaning. The cast is all brilliant and includes Mia Farrow, John Malkovich, Madonna, David Ogden Stiers, Michael Kirby, John Cusack, John C. Reilly. Lily Tomlin, Jodie Foster, and Kathy Bates appeared in the cameos playing prostitutes in the local brothel. I was especially impressed by John Malkovich - never expected him be as tender as in the final scene.

On first viewing I wasn't crazy about Shadows and Fog, while the film looked fantastic and was well-directed the characters left me cold, the film didn't seem to know what tone it wanted and the story seemed meandering and dull. On re-watch however Shadows and Fog fared much better(as was with almost all the Allen films that didn't impress at first apart from Anything Else), it is nowhere near among Woody Allen's best and is around the lower middle of his filmography but I found it a good film and not among Allen's worst that it's often said to be. Visually, Shadows and Fog looks fantastic with brilliant black and white cinematography and Expressionistic images that are as striking as they are haunting. Allen's films are always well-made, but Shadows and Fog visually like Zelig is quite unique from a visual standpoint. The music is very eerie and fits the atmosphere perfectly, in fact if anything it adds to it. While it was confusing of what tone the film was trying to go with on first viewing, on re-watch it was much clearer and that criticism seems unfair now. The dialogue is both subtle and hilarious(love the brothel scenes) with sharp homages and insight in characteristic Woody Allen vein, but even more impressive was the murder-mystery element while a really chilling atmosphere is created, helped by the visuals and music. Allen's directing is as always adept and his performance, the most memorable, is a lot of fun. John Cusack does nervous and angsty very nicely and Jodie Foster and Kathy Bates are remarkably good in against-type roles. Shadows and Fog has imperfections, Mia Farrow for me overdoes it and comes across as shrill, John Malkovich deserved much more to do and is a little wasted and Madonna is rather out of place. The story does have its drawn out and aimless patches with an ending that felt convoluted and hurried, and the characters are not very interesting, a lot of them barely in the film. To conclude however, a good film but considering how well the best assets come off it could have been more than good. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Shadows and fog are everywhere in Shadows and Fog, one of Woody's most visually impressive pieces. One of his better chosen casts as well. (Check out William H Macy in a brief bit as a cop) Full of big ideas and classic comic bits, including all the great scenes at the brothel. Once again Woody's love of magic plays a part in the story. Some of his best zingers, too ( "They say a deranged killer has the strength of 10 men... I have the strength of a very small boy... with polio" -now that's funny.)Each character, main or brief, has a nice moment on screen, especially Julie Kavner in her best Marge Simpson voice playing Kleinman's bitter ex fiancee. She's hilarious. Loathe him or admire him: Allen always makes you think.