Rifkins Festival was the most enjoyable Woody Allen film, which I have seen, since Blue Jasmine.
Over many years Allen has been very perceptive about people who want to be professional artists but who cannot successfully do it. (For instance with Crimes and Misdemeanors and Bullets Over Broadway.) In Rifkins Festival that is the core of the story.
What is new is that Allen combines dreams with excellent recreations of famous moments of cinema which moves the story along.
Added to that is Allen's sharp wit. But not only for simple jokes but also about comic jibes towards the attitude of the intellectual (which is towards Allen himself).
Allen expresses his usual fears and wonder about the profound questions of life and death but at the same time, others consider such thoughts to be boring and pretentious. Allen, the intellect has more awareness and acceptance of who he is in a world of more typical folks and who they are.
Over many years Allen has been very perceptive about people who want to be professional artists but who cannot successfully do it. (For instance with Crimes and Misdemeanors and Bullets Over Broadway.) In Rifkins Festival that is the core of the story.
What is new is that Allen combines dreams with excellent recreations of famous moments of cinema which moves the story along.
Added to that is Allen's sharp wit. But not only for simple jokes but also about comic jibes towards the attitude of the intellectual (which is towards Allen himself).
Allen expresses his usual fears and wonder about the profound questions of life and death but at the same time, others consider such thoughts to be boring and pretentious. Allen, the intellect has more awareness and acceptance of who he is in a world of more typical folks and who they are.