Hannah und ihre Schwestern (1986)

Hannah und ihre Schwestern: Directed by Woody Allen. With Barbara Hershey, Carrie Fisher, Michael Caine, Mia Farrow. Between two Thanksgivings two years apart, Hannah’s husband falls in love with her sister Lee, while her hypochondriac ex-husband rekindles his relationship with her sister Holly.

“u0026quot;Hannah and Her Sistersu0026quot; is a comedy/drama (though mostly drama) about a dozen characters and their stories, all connecting back to three sisters: Hannah (Mia Farrow), Lee (Barbara Hershey) and Holly (Dianne Wiest). Hannah is the favorite, talented and kind, Lee is almost equally favored, but Holly is the outcast, with a past of drugs and always asking for money. Other characters include Hannahu0026#39;s hypochondriac ex-husband Mickey (Woody Allen), her current husband Elliot (Michael Caine), Leeu0026#39;s boyfriend Frederic (Max von Sydow) and Hollyu0026#39;s friend April (Carrie Fisher).u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eLike I said before, this is not so much a comedy as it is a drama. The comedy thatu0026#39;s in it fits, and is good, but the drama is better. Elliotu0026#39;s secret love for Lee is handled in a romantic way, but their infidelity is still seen as wrong, and you feel their guilt and inner turmoil. Mickey thinks he has a brain tumor, he finds out he doesnu0026#39;t and then he feels worse, and starts desperately searching for a purpose to live. All the other stories are equally dramatic, with comedy fittingly sprinkled in places too.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe acting is quite good, everyone playing their part perfectly, whether itu0026#39;s big or small. The filmu0026#39;s best performances come from Allen (in whatu0026#39;s no doubt his best performance) and Dianne Wiest as the extremely under-confident youngest sister. Allen and Wiest donu0026#39;t necessarily carry the film, as thereu0026#39;s no need to, but their segments were certainly the best, for me at least. The rest of the cast put forward too, especially Max von Sydow and Michael Caine in his first (and so far his only deserving) Oscar win.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWoody Allenu0026#39;s direction is at the top of its form here too, much like u0026quot;Annie Hallu0026quot; and his other greats. The camera work and use of voice overs are excellent. For instance, there is an intensely dramatic scene where the three sisters have lunch together and for the entire scene the camera rotates around the table, the speaker not always in the frame. His script is great too, it knows when to be dramatic and when to be funny and when to be both.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eOne of Allenu0026#39;s very best, 8/10.”