{"id":24178,"date":"2022-01-27T21:28:12","date_gmt":"2022-01-28T05:28:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=24178"},"modified":"2022-01-27T21:28:12","modified_gmt":"2022-01-28T05:28:12","slug":"rifkins-festival-isnt-perfect-but-amuses-with-classic-film-references-and-gorgeous-photography","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=24178","title":{"rendered":"RIFKIN\u2019S FESTIVAL Isn\u2019t Perfect, But Amuses with Classic Film References and Gorgeous Photography"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Filmed back in 2019, Rifkin\u2019s Festival<\/em> is the latest feature from writer\/director Woody Allen. Its release was delayed until last year in other countries due to the pandemic and is now making its theatrical debut in the US. Admittedly, this low-key comedy doesn\u2019t rank alongside the best of the moviemaker\u2019s recent works, like Blue Jasmine<\/em>, Midnight in Paris<\/em> or Match Point<\/em>. Still, it is an amusing and at times charming tale that also serves as a beautiful travelogue of the Spanish coastline. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Mort Rifkin (Wallace Shawn) is a grouchy, retired film\nprofessor trying to finish a novel. Unfortunately, he spends most of his time\ncomplaining about the work of modern moviemakers, saying their titles simply don\u2019t\ncompare to classics and the European films of the 1950s and 1960s. He tags along\nto the San Sebastian Film Festival with his much younger wife Sue (Gina\nGershon), who is working the event as a publicist. She spends much of her time leading\ncelebrated young French director Philippe (Louis Garrel) through interviews. Of\ncourse, Rifkin isn\u2019t as taken by the filmmaker as the journalists, public and Sue\nare. After bickering with his wife about her client, he begins to fear that she\nmay be having an affair with him. Anxious and suffering the hypochondria, he\nvisits physician Dr. Joanna Rojas (Elena Anaya) and is immediately smitten. She\nis also in a troubled marriage and the two end up spending their spare time together.\nThese events force Rifkin to come to terms with what he truly wants at this\nstage of his life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The movie tarts off in a clunky manner, unnecessarily using\na conversation between Rifkin and his therapist to tell his story. And numerous\nfilm references to classic movies like Breathless<\/em>, Jules and Jim<\/em>,\nThe Seventh Seal<\/em> and Citizen Kane<\/em> may be baffling anyone not well\nversed in the history of cinema. As you might have already guessed, main\ncharacter Rifkin is a movie snob. While he isn\u2019t outwardly vicious, this still\nwon\u2019t make him the most likable of protagonists to many. In fact, most will\nwonder why this elderly, negative figure would be appealing to any of the\nfemale characters (even if it is explained that he once showed great promise earlier\nin his career).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, despite its quirks the film does have plenty going for it. Rifkin\u2019s slights and comments about Philippe\u2019s critically adored \u201cupbeat anti-war movie\u201d and the director\u2019s affection for American cinema are often funny. As we get to know more about the lead, he does become more relatable. And whenever the protagonist feels concerned about his faltering relationships, his fears are depicted in movie scenes mimicking the style of his favorite filmmakers. These black and white sequences play homage to the movie titles listed above. For those who get the references, they are enjoyable to behold. The finale pays homage to a famous bit from The Seventh Seal<\/em>, but features a grim and foreboding figure on a sunny Spanish beach. It is an especially funny scene with some well delivered lines by the cast. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Additionally, the film is gorgeously lensed. San Sebastian\nlooks phenomenal as photographed by Vittorio Storaro (Apocalypse Now<\/em>, The\nLast Emperor<\/em>, Dick Tracy<\/em>), impressing whenever Rifkin travels to\nvarious scenic spots in the area. It will certainly make most viewers add a to visit\nthe region on their bucket list. And while the tone and subject matter may seem\nlight and frothy on the surface, there is more going on beneath the story\u2019s bright\nbackdrops and jokes. We do see an anxious, fearful and sad man come to an\nhonest assessment of his career, as well see the strain that being an impulsive\nand creative type can have on relationships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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If you\u2019re not a fan of Allen\u2019s work, then there\u2019s likely nothing\nabout this film that will win you over. Even his enthusiasts would likely agree\nthat this isn\u2019t one of his preeminent features. But then again, that\u2019s a tough\ncomparison to make when his best works are near prefect examples of their genres.\nDespite its flaws, Rifkin\u2019s Festival<\/em> is a beautifully shot and entertaining\nmovie that will bring at least a few smiles to the faces of the moviemaker\u2019s\nfans and cinema lovers in general.  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Filmed back in 2019, Rifkin\u2019s Festival is the latest feature from writer\/director Woody Allen. Its release was delayed until last year in other countries due to the pandemic and is now making its theatrical debut in the US. Admittedly, this low-key comedy doesn\u2019t rank alongside the best of the moviemaker\u2019s recent works, like Blue Jasmine, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":24179,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[209,4660,8325,12666,17051,17052,17053,17054,17615,23936,24467],"class_list":["post-24178","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-movie-reviews","tag-209","tag-comedy","tag-gina-gershon","tag-louis-garrel","tag-rifkins-festival","tag-rifkins-festival-film-review","tag-rifkins-festival-movie-review","tag-rifkins-festival-review","tag-san-sebastian","tag-wallace-shawn","tag-woody-allen"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24178","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=24178"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24178\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=24178"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=24178"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=24178"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}