Verbrechen und andere Kleinigkeiten (1989)

Verbrechen und andere Kleinigkeiten: Directed by Woody Allen. With Bill Bernstein, Martin Landau, Claire Bloom, Stephanie Roth Haberle. An ophthalmologist’s mistress threatens to reveal their affair to his wife while a married documentary filmmaker is infatuated with another woman.

“I am beginning a review of Allenu0026#39;s films and decided to start with this one, as it is considered his most intelligent. Certainly, the focus of the film is at the end where the primary character proposes making this film to Woody, who has played a filmmaker. This directly self-referential device is bold, and could have been part of a fine web, as several other filmmakers have created.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBut the problem is that weu0026#39;re given pretty thin broth up until that point. Woody tries to be as honestly raw as Chekhov and as deeply symbolic as Kafka. Instead we get a sophomoric effort.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eGodu0026#39;s eyes are mentioned a dozen times. And the protagonist is an eye doctor who is treating a rabbi who goes blind. `Get it?u0026#39; Woody shouts. To set up the self-referential last scene, we are treated to Woody playing an unappreciated filmmaker making a film inspired by a Jewish philosopher who seems happy but is not. `Get it?u0026#39; Woody nudge nudges. To underscore that in the theater, we are the eyes of God, Woody bluntly demonstrates by inserting his own viewing of films and philosophizing about film.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003enThis is not intelligent filmmaking, my friends. It is the clumsiness of someone smart enough to see what art is, but not clever enough to create it. Maybe he thinks 90% of creating art is showing up.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAlong the way, we get an interesting performance from Alda. But it is all too obvious that every characteru0026#39;s dialog is Woodyu0026#39;s and they are acting just as Woody has demonstrated to them. Check out their mannerisms. Maybe his comedies will be better. His books are excellent.”