Ombre e nebbia

"Shadows and Fog" is Woody Allen's tribute to German Expressionism, and it's very interesting, often funny, and at times downright strange. He gives no indication of the setting or time, and as is often true with Allen, there's a serious undertone. His nebishy character, Kleinman, is woken up in the middle of the night in his home for reasons having to do with a serial killer at large. Poor Kleinman doesn't know exactly what he has to do with anything, but as he puts it, everything seems to know what he's supposed to be doing but him. Across town, Mia Farrow is the circus performer Irmy, who finds out her boyfriend (John Malkovich) is cheating on her, so she leaves him. She winds up in a brothel with some real characters played by Lily Tomlin, Kathy Bates, and Jodie Foster. A client (John Cusack) declares himself in love with Mia and offers her money to sleep with him. When it gets up to $700, she accepts. Later she meets Kleinman and sends him to the church to donate all but $50. The priest is impressed, and the police cross Kleinman's name off the list of suspects. Then they meet a beggar, and she sends Kleinman back for half the money. Kleinman's name goes back on the list of suspects.

Yes, it's an odd but fascinating film. The atmosphere is bizarre, very German - dark, bleak, and foggy, with a scary serial killer out of "M." Big stars float in and out of the film, like Madonna, some with tiny roles. The funniest scene is when Kleinman tries to hide out at his ex-girlfriend's (Julie Kavner) who calls him every name in the book and then tries to turn him in.

Kleinman is an innocent man caught in confusing circumstances and times, not sure which side he should be on - there are two factions trying to catch this killer, and both attempt to recruit him - and all the poor guy wants is a promotion at his job. Though his reactions are often amusing, imagine being awoken by the police in the middle of the night and having no idea what it's about. It's happened, though, as it happens in the film. As Kleinman wanders the streets, unsure of where he's going, we can relate.

Woody Allen's tribute to German expressionism is better than most critics would have you believe. Sure there is very little plot to speak of, it's more a series of vignettes and gags than a cohesive narrative. Sure, it ends rather abruptly, never solving the mystery, but none of this stopped my thorough enjoyment of this film.

As the title suggests the entire movie is designed in shadows and fog. Shot with beautiful black and white photography, Allen and cinematographer Carlo Di Palma create the look and feel of an unnamed East European city as seen in such films as M and Nosferatu. The lighting is set up so that in nearly every shot underlying shadows engulf the scene. In the exteriors a vicious fog rolls across the night sky obscuring most details. Through the fog bumbles Kleinman (Allen is his typical neurotic schmuck role) trying to find his role in a vigilante mob's plan to stop a serial killer roaming the streets. From dark night until dawn, Kleinman wanders from place to place meeting a wide variety of curious characters (played by an even more curious group of celebrities), the most endearing of which is a desperate sword swallower (Mia Farrow)who is has wandered into a brothel after fleeing her cheating boyfriend/clown (John Malcovich).

It is a little unsettling to watch Allen do his normal schtick while the characters around him are murdered, subjected to racial prejudice, beaten by the police and discuss such subjects as love, sex, and meaning. There is a subtext involving the plight of the Jews between the World Wars, foreshadowing the Nazis. Yet the gags remain as solid as any Woody Allen film. Amongst the seriousness of his subtext and the films he is paying homage to, Allen finds away to bring full bellied laughter. Though his quirky neurosis isn't as resolutely hilarious as it is in such films as Annie Hall, it is still enough to fill the film with mirth.

The film ends rather abruptly with Kleinman having never learned his role in the plan, nor the killer having been caught. Yet as the credits role we realize the mystery was not so much the reason behind the story as method in creating it.

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.

I made the big mistake of avoiding this for years based on all the garbage I'd heard slammed against it, and as a result it was one of the last Woody Allen movies I got around to seeing. Well, it was worth waiting for, as it turned out to be a real treat. This is one of Allen's strangest works, probably his signature stab at a horror spoof. The black and white moody photography is compelling, modeled after the dark German expressionistic films of Murnau and Fritz Lang, as well as a hearkening back to those delightful old horror and Sherlock Holmes films from Universal Studios.

The action is set in an un-named village in an unknown time and place, but it's patterned after the early 20th Century, with a hint of Germany or even London. True to form, Allen plays a dweeb who is awoken at midnight by an angry mob demanding that he assist them in tracking down a Jack-the-Ripper-like serial murderer who's prowling the streets. He half-heartedly gets dressed and ventures out into the moonlit fog, unsure of just what's expected from him while he manages a few good one-liner's in his apprehension ("they say the killer has the strength of 10 men; I have the strength of one small boy -- with polio").

There are guest stars galore, some of whom have very small parts but are fun to watch anyway. A traveling circus in town consists of a female sword swallower (Mia Farrow) and her clown husband (John Malkovich) who is having an affair with the Strongman's pretty wife (Madonna). When Farrow catches the two of them in a caravan together, she storms out alone into the dark and is taken in by a street walker (Lily Tomlin) who lets her unwind inside her brothel with the rest of the whores (two of which are played by Kathy Bates and Jodie Foster). Some of the finest moments in the film come within the whorehouse, complimented by philosophical discussion and interesting camera-work. It's there that a wealthy young patron (John Cusack) fancies Mia and coaxes her into bed for one night. Her ultimate guilt over the encounter leads her back into the dense fog, until she meets up (predictably) with Woody. Also in small roles are Donald Pleasence in good form as a mad coroner who wants to analyze the essence of the killer's "evil" (possibly playing on his involvement in the HALLOWEEN films) and a wasted turn by Fred Gwynne (don't blink or you'll miss him) as one of the villagers.

SHADOWS AND FOG is flawed to be sure (there are a lot of loose ends remaining untied for one thing) but it's visually appealing and rich in atmosphere and the language of the night. I enjoyed it. *** out of ****

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.