daricko Reviews

Run, Waiter, Run! (1981)

A brilliant comedy

[10/10 · 19 October 2007]

This film is very funny and skilfully made. It uses a wide range of film humor styles, from farce including slapstick to satire. It reflects on human (male) behavior in general and on Czechoslovak communist society. At the end of the film, there is a fantastically shot chase scene. I do not agree at all with the qualification "small comedy", because the film is based on a very developed script that contains many sub-plots with people commenting or reacting on the behavior of the main character. The result is a picture that gives you pleasure and enjoyment while watching it and amusement after when recalling different scenes and characters.

Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989)

a sharp and witty outlook on life

[10/10 · 16 March 2005]

Woody Allen often questions if things really are like what we think they are. The wise and forgiving rabbi celebrates life and proclaims a positive and optimistic judgment of the true nature of mankind, although his own life was tragically destined by man's cruel and absurd behavior. And then the rabbi suddenly commits suicide. 'If it bends, it's funny, if it breaks, it isn't funny,' says Lester. Maybe the opposite is true, I found the suicide scene very funny. It showed that all the rabbi's wise words weren't powerful enough to ward off his terrible fate, it showed that in the end he had to resign himself to God's decrees. His act of suicide didn't turn him into a phone, it made him more credible and more like us and made it easier to empathize with him. Cliff Stern who thought the world of him probably lacked in empathy and therefore failed to help him; maybe if he hadn't admired him so much he would have done something to prevent him from killing himself. But he probably cared more about his documentary on the rabbi than about the rabbi himself anyway: When he hears the bad news of the rabbi's death, his main concern seems to be how to continue with the documentary. Maybe Cliff's biggest fault was that he either worshiped or despised other adults but never empathized with them and that made him so vulnerable and nasty, the only kind Cliff was Cliff the uncle taking his little niece out to the pictures.