Wild Man Blues

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.

For the die-hard Woody Allen fan, this is a very interesting documentary that takes a look at the man, the neurotic, and - in particular for the purposes of this film - the musician. This is a candid travelogue surrounding Woody's 1996 tour of Europe, where he was booked with his New Orleans Jazz Band to play a series of engagements. The camera follows Allen (along with Soon Yi Previn and his sister) on the plane, in hotel rooms, on the streets with appreciative fans, and of course on the stage when Woody's performing his favorite music. It's a pretty safe bet that a good chunk of the paying audience was in attendance not so much to hear the jazz as to catch a live glimpse of their favorite movie star, and that's sort of the case with us, too.

The occasional concert performances are pleasant enough, but they're not the most valuable elements of the movie; for most fans, things really come alive when we get to see Allen being himself behind the scenes: getting jittery while riding in his boat in Venice, getting grossed out at the thought of a dog licking his face, cautioning people at a press conference that he's claustrophobic, struggling with an uncooperative clarinet, and musing over the respect his films receive in Europe as opposed to their indifference at home. It becomes quite amazing to see firsthand just how much of his true persona is actually what he uses to flesh out those crazy characters he plays in all his films. Nowhere is it more evident just how Woody may have wound up so endearingly neurotic than it is when he returns home to New York at the end of the film. It's then that we meet his still-living parents who seem to do everything in their power to discredit him after his long trip; dad is more interested in the quality of the engraving on Woody's overseas awards rather than being complimentary toward the honor itself; mom reminds her son not to think he made it famous all on his own, and doesn't pull punches when she gives her opinion of Woody's choice of woman.

WILD MAN BLUES is not meant for just your average movie lover, but if you're a genuine fan of Woody Allen and his films, you really should catch it. *** out of ****

Wild Man Blues (named after a terrific Louis Armstrong song) shows Woody Allen during his trip to Europe and abroad for a tour with his Jazz band. So the question you might be asking is, how much is shown? How candid does filmmaker Barbara Kopple go into the behind-the-scenes and off-the-stage stuff in the film? One could say not enough, but then how personal can one get with a cinematic heavyweight like Allen? True, it's not always just him that carries the interest in the film; his New Orleans Jazz band (the same, more or less, that gave that hilariously cool score for his film Sleeper) is toe-tapping fun, especially if you like this sort of music (I got into it a little more after watching the Ken Burns documentary), with Eddie Davis the banjo player and director of the group a real treat. It may be odd to say, but despite Woody's talent at the clarinet, it sometimes doesn't bring as much attention for one as does the 'talky' scenes.

And some of these, of course, have the young Soon-Yi Prevlin in tow. This was of course a few years after the whole hoopla went over about the break-up and all. It's curious to see how their relationship goes in the film, what is and what isn't shown, and this is I think when Kopple gets the most personal, even if it's a little uncomfortably so. Indeed, this is an Allen that is not really like the one he portrays in film after film- it does have the moments of humor, and his neuroses are in full view of the lens. But by giving it this extra view, it shows him as much more of a relatable person, or maybe not (the film does show him in Europe as being far more celebrity-like than here). In all, it works best as an objective view of the subject matter, of a director who also happens to be a good musician who enjoys playing what he calls "crude...esoteric music" of old. It is, at least for the Woody admirer, entirely watchable.

4 Oscars on his shelf and a great legacy as comedian and filmmaker that goes for more than five decades Woody Allen doesn't need to prove his geniality to anyone. Talented director, actor, writer and very creative, and at times surrounded by some controversial but still a genius. Barbara Kopple's documentary "Wild Man Blues" brings us a little more closer to the man who has a very enthusiastic passion for jazz, playing the clarinet with his jazz band, reason why he never attended the Academy Awards (he only went in 2002 to make a tribute to New York) or any other awards show.

Following Woody along with Soon-Yi, we have the pleasure to watch the director of classics like "Hannah and Her Sisters" and "Bullets over Broadway" on a tour in Europe doing what he likes the most, playing music, showing his skills with the clarinet (and he's a good player by the way) entertaining audiences with the old New Orleans jazz (and boy, he got some really big crowds to his shows, treated like a rock star).

More than just the tour, this is an intimate portrait of Woody Allen, his life and his work, his views on music and films, his relation with Soon-Yi, and even a family breakfast with Woody's parents. There's plenty of space and time to enjoy his hobby and watch the man making jokes all the time, at times a little depressed or a little bit cranky but never being snob or arrogant as some of his written interviews tend to sound. Some shocking revelations such as the fact of Soon-Yi watched all of Woody's films except "Annie Hall"; or when Woody discussed about getting a Life Achievement Award by the DGA when Fellini never got one, he (and us) can't understand that.

Greater than all that is his jokes whatever the occasion, talking about the people he sees on the way ("They won't pay ten cents to see one of my movies, but passing in a gondola, they love it.") or talking to Soon-Yi about the concierge of the luxury hotel they stayed in. It's delightful to see when he talks about the films that failed at box-office in America but are a huge hit all over Europe ("Interiors", "Another Woman", and others). And if you pay attention to his opinions you'll see that most of them will be referred in his future films e.g. When he says about suffering of chronic dissatisfaction. He quoted that in "Vicky Cristina Barcleona". Or the way he richly describes Paris, place where he would make the film that gave his 4th Oscar this year, "Midnight in Paris". It's all there!

Entertainment and reality at its best, "Wild Man Blues" allows us to know a little better about the creator of cinematic masterpieces, presenting the man in a different way than we're used to see (ok, he's less neurotic than the characters he play). Have fun! 10/10.

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