The real wants their lives to be fictional, and the fictional people want their lives to be real

Kareem 2022-04-23 07:02:35

I don't think this movie is one where Woody Allen is serious about discussing, expressing, or asking questions

For example, in "Annie Hall", Woody Allen's opening monologue can be said to be what he wants to express through the characters, his understanding of love (everyone needs eggs), his attitude towards life (so unpalatable to give back so little) the phrase "have a little faith" at the end of "Manhattan" can be understood as his advice to himself

In this kind of work we can see that he expresses clearly and earnestly, he means it

But I don't think the movie should be interpreted this way

For example, read from the perspective of truth and falsehood:

The movie is so cheerful and open that it took me a day or two, after I'd seen it, to realize how deeply Allen has reached this time. If it is true, and I think it is, that most of the time we go to the movies in order to experience brief lives that are not our own, then Allen is demonstrating what a tricky self-deception we practice. Those movie lives consist of only what is on the screen, and if we start thinking that real life can be the same way, we are in for a cruel awakening. ——rogerebert

From the perspective of love (it can also be said to be interpreted from the perspective of understanding "self"):

But in one of Woody Allen's interesting twists, he has Shepherd fall in love with Cecilia. It's a nice little comment on the nature of love, that who we fall in love with is something that's decided at the core of who we are. —— 100 films

Such interpretations are suspected of over-interpreting, because I personally feel that the director is not discussing anything, and it can even be understood as a simple romantic and sad story

It may be more meaningful to interpret from the point of view of technique

Woody Allen is so fond of breaking the example between the audience and the actors. In "Annie Hall", he directly pulled the man who quarreled with him to the camera and reasoned with the audience. In the script "Central Park West Road", he let the script The author suddenly appeared, chatted with the characters in the play for a while, and then went back to finish writing the script. This film directly bases the entire story on the escape of the actors.

Interpreting it from this perspective is more powerful than emphasizing the emotional meaning of a certain aspect of a film that is inherently ambiguous

View more about The Purple Rose of Cairo reviews

Extended Reading
  • Abigail 2022-03-27 09:01:10

    Compared with those thrilling and righteous resentment or nostalgia, this kind of "nothing ever happened" + "Life goes on" mode is in the middle of the tear every time. Every time the protagonist seems to be embarrassed and react too much, I help them. Cry into a neuropathy. .

  • Jackson 2022-03-29 09:01:03

    After being stared at by the woman five times, the male protagonist stepped off the screen and left the screen to scramble. Simple fantasy and complex reality, does the audience make the movie, or does the movie delight the audience? One of Woody Allen's Best Movies

The Purple Rose of Cairo quotes

  • Tom Baxter: [pauses after kissing Cecilia] Where's the fade-out?

    Cecilia: What?

    Tom Baxter: Always when the kissing gets hot and heavy just before the lovemaking, there's a fadeout.

    Cecilia: Then what?

    Tom Baxter: Then we're making love in some private, perfect place.

    Cecilia: That's not how it happens here.

    Tom Baxter: What, there's no fade out?

    Cecilia: No, but when you kissed me, I felt like my heart faded out. I closed my eyes, and I was in some private place.

    Tom Baxter: How fascinating. You make love without fading out?

    Cecilia: Yes.

    Tom Baxter: Well, I can't wait to see this!

  • Gil Shepherd: I worked so hard to make him real.

    Gil's Agent: Maybe you overdid it.

    Gil Shepherd: I'll sue my dialogue coach, that louse.