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This is a great movie for selected audiences who happen to be in the right mood for it. I will warn you that the rest of the review contains spoilers, but that shouldn't prevent you from enjoying the film since it really has no plot twists or turns.
99% of the movie takes place at a table in the New York restaurant where Wallace Shawn, a playwright, and Andre Gregory, a theatre manager, are having dinner and a near two hour conversation after a long time apart. The very beginning shows Wallace getting on the subway and coming to the restaurant and reveals that he has not been so successful in his recent pursuits, that recently he has found himself only caring about money due to this lack of success, and that this is a somewhat reluctant reunion he is attending.
The first part is Andre recounting his professional burn-out and his subsequent travels to Poland, the Sahara, England, and Tibet to look for meaning in his life. The next part is Wallace responding to all of this, and the final part consists of Andre and Wallace basically agreeing to disagree, all while dining at a fine restaurant.
Although Andre's tale is fascinating, it is very hard to relate to him. It was easier to relate to Wallace as he enters the restaurant somewhat downtrodden, listens patiently to Andre's adventures, and then seems to find his spark when he responds to Andre's tale by saying that it seemed to him that all of Andre's exploits were an effort to strip away the purpose from his life in an attempt to experience life as "pure being". Shawn clearly states that he sees no value in just existing, as he believes we are all defined by our purposes and pursuits. Even if he was home, with nothing to do, he says, he would pick up a book. The two continue to talk, but neither is basically moved from their original positions. The final scene is Wallace taking a taxi home, and mentioning that each street holds a memory for him, from his childhood to the present, and how this cheers him. He seems more upbeat for the encounter, although the voiceover still has him thinking about practical matters at the end.
I've seen this movie several times, and I always enjoy it. Perhaps I am a bit too much like Wallace, in that I always pick up on practical points of Andre's exploits that always seem to vex me. For one, this movie is set in 1981, and Poland had been firmly under Communist control for the last 35 years. What exactly were the Communist authorities doing while Andre, an American, had several dozen Polish citizens out in the woods carrying on a theatre workshop? I can't imagine they would have been too sympathetic. How did Andre even get into Poland? Likewise with Tibet, which is located inside Communist China. Remember, this is years before China became the more easily penetrable capitalist machine it is today. Why was it that the practical matter of making a living, and the costs of world travel while not working, didn't seem to impede Andre from traveling around the world, or even seem to enter his mind? What was his family doing all of this time that he was globe-trotting? The story of traveling to Poland is not the result of a geopolitically unaware screenplay, as Gregory actually did drop out of theatre for awhile in the late 70's and travel about the world, including to Poland.
However, it is still a fascinating movie, but you must concentrate because the movie is pure conversation, and if you get distracted at all you'll miss something. Not getting distracted is difficult, as the entire two hour conversation is food for thought. This surely isn't a film for everyone, but I certainly enjoyed it. It's a great contrast between two people from the same world - New York's world of theatre - who have two completely different outlooks on life. One seeks for meaning in grand adventures in exotic settings and thinks everything in his life should be repeatedly examined for continuing validity, the other is content with the simple pleasures of life and enjoys stability and continuity.
Extra Features:
New, restored high-definition digital transfer
New video interviews with actors Andre Gregory and Wallace Shawn by filmmaker and friend Noah Baumbach
"My Dinner with Louis," an episode from the BBC program Arena, in which Shawn interviews director Louis Malle
PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic Amy Taubin and the prefaces written for the printed screenplay by Gregory and Shawn
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Reviews with images
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Packaged really well. I first heard of this film in Community, have always been eager to watch it since. I loved it and the directing is pretty subtle. Engaging throughout the final scene resonated deeply, thought about it for awhile. Definitely would recommend.
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