As a fan of Russian literature, Ingmar Bergman, and the director Woody Allen himself, this film was an absolute joy for me. The references are clever and flow so effortlessly, centering on Tolstoy and Bergman, but including Dostoevsky, Nabokov, T.S. Eliot, Eisenstein, and various philosophers, some quite obscure. Comedically he channels Groucho Marx ("Well, my seconds will be out. Have them call on my thirds. If my thirds are out, go directly to my fourths."), Charlie Chaplin (the hapless soldier in 'Shoulder Arms'), and Buster Keaton (the duel scene). As in many of his other films, it's intelligent but also satirizes the intelligentsia, which I liked. Not everything works but I was smiling throughout and laughed out loud several times. Amidst all of the gags, Allen gets in comments about politics, e.g. the Generals looking down on the soldiers as sheep, and lines like this: "Think there's any difference whether we live under the Czar or Napoleon? They're both crooks. The Czar's a little taller." He also zings religion a few times, e.g. "If it turns out that there is a God, I don't think that he's evil. I think that the worst you can say about him is that basically he's an underachiever." Overall, just a smart, playful, funny film.
A sampling of some of the funny bits: "You think I was made in God's image? Take a look at me. You think He wears glasses?" "Not with those frames."
"He'll go and fight, and I hope they put him in the front lines!" "Thanks a lot, mom. My mother, folks."
"How many lovers do you have?" "In the mid-town area?"
"You want to make a career out of the army, don't you?" "Well, let's not get carried away." "From now on you'll clean the mess hall and the latrine!" "Yes sir. How will I tell the difference?"
"He was the village idiot." "Yeah, what did you do - place?" "Oh, God is testing us." "If he's gonna test us, why doesn't he give us a written?"
"You're quoting a Hun to me?"
The large "WELCOME IDIOTS" sign at the Village Idiots' Convention in Minsk.
"They call me mad, but one day when the history of France is written, they will mark my name well. Sidney Applebaum!"
A sampling of some of the funny bits: "You think I was made in God's image? Take a look at me. You think He wears glasses?" "Not with those frames."
"He'll go and fight, and I hope they put him in the front lines!" "Thanks a lot, mom. My mother, folks."
"How many lovers do you have?" "In the mid-town area?"
"You want to make a career out of the army, don't you?" "Well, let's not get carried away." "From now on you'll clean the mess hall and the latrine!" "Yes sir. How will I tell the difference?"
"He was the village idiot." "Yeah, what did you do - place?" "Oh, God is testing us." "If he's gonna test us, why doesn't he give us a written?"
"You're quoting a Hun to me?"
The large "WELCOME IDIOTS" sign at the Village Idiots' Convention in Minsk.
"They call me mad, but one day when the history of France is written, they will mark my name well. Sidney Applebaum!"