mvanhoore

What's wrong with a director who cast himself in nearly every film he made? Nothing if your name is or was Charles Chaplin, Clint Eastwood or Gene Kelly. But in case of Woody Allen there's definitely a problem. He always cast himself in a role of a character he wishes to be. In Mighty Aphrodite he plays a sport journalist married with a pretty wife (Helena Bonham Carter) who is a designer. For sure it's a frustration for Allen to be born in a body that is anything but athletic and it's clear that he imagined this character to compensate for his physical shortcomings. A role as a real sportsman would be totally unbelievable so let's make it a sport journalist! At one day Lenny (Allen) en Amanda (Bonham Carter) decides to adopt a baby, or in fact Amanda takes the decision. After a couple of years their marriage is in trouble and Lenny starts a search for the biological mother of the toddler. As a viewer you're not sure what the reason is. He suspects Amanda of cheating on him so maybe he is looking for revenge or to raise his son with the woman he's looking for. Or it is just his midlife crisis. After some research he finds out that the mother of his adopted son is a hooker and porn star by the name of Linda Ash who also lives in New York. He approaches her as a customer but instead of having sex with her he tries to talk her into a more decent life. Of course Linda is very wary about Lenny's approach after the experiences she has with men but he succeed to win her trust and actually gets her out of her job and into a hairdresser training. In fact he is so concerned about her welfare that he tries to find her a decent man. Then it all goes wrong: he thinks he's right about the cheating of his wife and the man he thinks is a very good husband for Linda finds out about her porn career.

When both Lenny and Linda are at a low point in their lives they found comfort in each other and even end up in bed. But Lenny returns to Amanda who also decides that the lover who is after her isn't worth the end of her marriage.

So not only gives Allen himself a role very close to something athletic he also give himself a marriage to the beautiful Bonham Carter and a good night with Mira Sorvino who plays Linda Ash. Not total unbelievable wasn't it for the fact that he portrays Lenny as a total neurotic and klutz. For a person who has a very social job and has a marriage which give him a lot of contacts in the art scene his clumsiness is far overdone. The scene where he first enters the apartment of Linda is so shamefully bad acted that it is painful to watch. Just like the scene where he tries to convince the pimp to keep his hands of Linda.

Not to say that this is a bad movie. Allen good be quite funny here and he brings a brilliant idea to the script. An antic Greek choir which (with the assistance of some of the Greek gods) give comment on the story and the characters and on some occasions try to interrupt and talk Lenny out of his plans. This idea give the film a light tone against the neurotic acting by Allen and the heavy themes like abortion, prostitution and divorce. As a viewer you wonder when the real reason for Lenny's interest in Linda comes to the surface. That this didn't happen is a bit of disappointment because you're curious about the reaction of the two women in Lenny's life. But it also fits in the light mood of the film.

So Allen puts a lot of good ideas in Mighty Aphrodite but it's a pity nobody convinces him to hire a good casting agency for the role of Lenny.

The Dawn Patrol tells the story of a British flying squadron in WW I. Dick Courtney (Richard Barthelmess) is the ace pilot facing the problem that his squadron is sent on mission impossible almost every day. Major Brand (Neil Hamilton) is his commander who suffers under the circumstances that he has to send inexperienced pilots on those missions with the knowledge that every time his squadron is at least halved.

The first half of the film we see the struggle between Courtney and Brand. The Major is criticized and blamed by Courtney for sending all those young pilots into their untimely death. Brand defends himself because he only follows the orders of his superiors. Then Major Brand is promoted and Courtney becomes commander of the squadron. Instead of flying with his pals he faces a career behind a desk and after a while he realizes that he is in the same position as Major Brand before him. He looses himself in depression and alcohol before operating in a final heroic flight.

At first we don't see to many action in this movie. Most scenes are in Major Brand's office or at the bar of the airport. We see the companionship between the pilots but also the despair, the fear and a lot of drinking. In the second part we follow the pilots as they do their missions. Taking into account that this movie was made in the early thirties the war in the air is very well pictured. Those scenes were used again for the remake of 1938. Still I don't think that The Dawn Patrol gives a realistic view of the lives of RAF pilots during the Great War. It wouldn't be possible to consume so many alcohol and still control those early airplanes to survive the missions into enemy territory.

The film shows a lot of respect for the pilots but also for the enemy. When a German is captured he joins the drinking bout before he is taken to prison. The most striking moment in the film is the salute that Courtney gives the German pilot who has just shot him down. The pilots are portrayed as modern knights whose war in the air knows other rules and the dirty war on the ground.

So in a year wherein legendary anti war films like All Quiet on the Western Front and West front 1918 were made The Dawn Patrol was already a bit old fashioned. Although the harsh reality of war is shown by the losses of young men's lives and the hard choices that the command of squadron had to made the film also glorifies the pilots, their loyalty and their respect for their enemy. The action scenes are very well photographed but that doesn't compensate the long scenes in the office and at the bar with drunken pilots. As said better movies are made about the Great War and the circumstances the soldiers were in.