Existentialism and Dostoyevsky are still worth seeing

Tate 2022-05-25 23:21:50

Woody Allen's new film, "The Unreasonable Man" tells the story of an uninspired and unenthusiastic philosophy professor who regained his passion for life from a seemingly just murder. Every fall, Woody Allen's movie is like an old visitor, with no surprises but warm enough. Although I still prefer Anne Hall, Manhattan, especially Love and Death, taken when Woody and Diane Keaton are together. Bullets flying across Broadway and Cairo Purple Rose are also worth seeing. This new film satirizes all philosophers, from Kant, Heidegger to Kierkegaard, existentialism is the focus of ridicule. The difficulty lies in the fact that he not only satirizes the study scholar who only talks but does not do it, but also unsparingly satirizes his blind passion to do something to prove his existence.

The more interesting point is how to do evil for the good. Once you do evil, do you have to cover up the evil with countless evils? Who defines the good and who judges the justice? Is the motive for good altruistic or self-interested? If Kant, Bentham, Machiavelli and others watch this movie together, will they fight after watching it? Perhaps the most likely scenario for a brain patch is that Woody Allen was gang-fighted by them. And the ambivalence of middle class, intellectuals, female literary youth being fascinated by male literary youth, and the probability of crime are all traditional Woody Allen elements. Those who are familiar with Woody Allen can see that the shadows of sin and wrong and the point of the match are the old man's once again in a movie with Dostoevsky. The turning point at the end of the movie is also thrilling, especially compared to his more moderate movies in recent years, this one has the sharp style of Woody Allen in the last century. However, I have to say that this one is basically without any aftertaste. Even if it has a philosophy, it is only a very simple application. The inquiry into the problem is not in-depth, but Woody has no such thoughts anyway, so there is no need to pursue it.

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Extended Reading

Irrational Man quotes

  • [first lines]

    Abe: [narrating] Kant said human reason is troubled by questions that it cannot dismiss, but also cannot answer. Okay, so, what are we talking about here? Morality? Choice? The randomness of life? Aesthetics? Murder?

    Jill: I think Abe was crazy from the beginning. Was it from stress? Was it anger? Was he disgusted by what he saw as life's never-ending suffering? Or was he simply bored by the meaninglessness of day-to-day existence? He was so damn interesting. And different. And a good talker. And he could always cloud the issue with words.

    Abe: Where to begin? You know, the existentialists feel nothing happens until you hit absolute rock bottom. Well, let's say that when I went to teach at Braylin College, emotionally, I was at Zabriskie Point. Of course, my reputation, or should I say a reputation, preceded me.

  • Abe Lucas: Jill had been right in her appraisal of me. I was teetering on the brink of some kind of breakdown, unable to deal with my feelings of anger, frustration, futility. They say that drowning is a painless way to go.