Shadows and Fog

Woody Allen's tribute to German expressionism is better than most critics would have you believe. Sure there is very little plot to speak of, it's more a series of vignettes and gags than a cohesive narrative. Sure, it ends rather abruptly, never solving the mystery, but none of this stopped my thorough enjoyment of this film.

As the title suggests the entire movie is designed in shadows and fog. Shot with beautiful black and white photography, Allen and cinematographer Carlo Di Palma create the look and feel of an unnamed East European city as seen in such films as M and Nosferatu. The lighting is set up so that in nearly every shot underlying shadows engulf the scene. In the exteriors a vicious fog rolls across the night sky obscuring most details. Through the fog bumbles Kleinman (Allen is his typical neurotic schmuck role) trying to find his role in a vigilante mob's plan to stop a serial killer roaming the streets. From dark night until dawn, Kleinman wanders from place to place meeting a wide variety of curious characters (played by an even more curious group of celebrities), the most endearing of which is a desperate sword swallower (Mia Farrow)who is has wandered into a brothel after fleeing her cheating boyfriend/clown (John Malcovich).

It is a little unsettling to watch Allen do his normal schtick while the characters around him are murdered, subjected to racial prejudice, beaten by the police and discuss such subjects as love, sex, and meaning. There is a subtext involving the plight of the Jews between the World Wars, foreshadowing the Nazis. Yet the gags remain as solid as any Woody Allen film. Amongst the seriousness of his subtext and the films he is paying homage to, Allen finds away to bring full bellied laughter. Though his quirky neurosis isn't as resolutely hilarious as it is in such films as Annie Hall, it is still enough to fill the film with mirth.

The film ends rather abruptly with Kleinman having never learned his role in the plan, nor the killer having been caught. Yet as the credits role we realize the mystery was not so much the reason behind the story as method in creating it.

After completing Shadows and Fog, I found myself once again dismayed by the common claim that Woody Allen makes the same type of film over and over again. In reality, Woody has always been open to trying new and untested things both with his narrative structure and his filmmaking style. Shadows and Fog is another perfect example of Woody's penchant for diverse filmmaking. The 1991 film was Woody Allen's gentle homage to German Expressionism. Shadows and Fog pairs Woody Allen and Mia Farrow in a shadowy town that hides from a strangler that is on the loose. As is the usual Woody Allen film, Shadows and Fog is as wonderfully comedic as it is a thoughtful exercise in grappling with life's deepest questions.

Kleinman (Woody Allen) is a nebbish, nervous bookkeeper who has been pulled into a plot by a group of vigilantes to hunt for a strangler that has been terrorizing their area. A perpetually nervous individual, Kleinman wants nothing to do with a group of lawless men seeking out a murderer. Kleinman would rather stay locked in his apartment safely away from the murderer roaming the streets. To make matters worse, despite the fact that Kleinman has been roped into a group of vigilantes, information about his role in the group is being withheld from him. Sheepishly attempting to find his role within the vigilante group, all the while desperately trying to avoid putting himself in real danger, Kleinman encounters a woman in a traveling circus, Irmy (Mia Farrow) who is also attempting to find her way through life in a much more metaphorical sense. Kindred spirits, Kleinman and Irmy attempt to find a purpose for their lives, all the while trying to save them.

Shadows and Fog works perfectly as a nod to German Expressionism, with gorgeous imagery reminiscent of the greats of the genre such as Robert Wiene and Fritz Lang. Woody Allen's frequent use of black and white photography well into the 90's is a fearless maneuver that deserves uproarious applause. Woody is a filmmaker that uses a variety of film technique achieving artistic significance yet is hardly acknowledged for that. Certain aspects Woody is commonly acknowledged for are present in Shadows and Fog, for instance, it is exquisitely written and has a brilliant sound design. Shadows and Fog is another worthy mention in my crusade to prove that Woody Allen is not a filmmaker that has a clear section of "lower-tier" work, as he is often accused.

I just saw `Shadows and Fog' for the first time this weekend, and while I can't say that it immediately became my favorite Woody Allen film, I did find it a very thoughtful and interesting film (not really a comedy), and an exceptionally beautiful film to look at.

I know this is frowned upon at the IMDb, but a lengthy and very negative review on this page of `Shadows and Fog,' along with a critique of Woody Allen in general, has gotten my dander up, and I felt like putting in my two cents. Why on earth should I, or any film lover, care about how successful a film is financially? Why should I care if a majority of movie patrons like a director's films or not? From my perspective, some of the stupidest trash makes the most money and sells the most tickets. Sure, I liked Jurassic Park -- saw it several times at the cinema, bought the video -- but not because of how much money it made, or how many other people were going to see it. It was because it was fun, and I liked it. Does that mean I should damn more esoteric directors (like Woody Allen) to oblivion? There are directors whose work I don't always understand, but God bless them, if they have the opportunity and the drive to get their cinematic vision realized, more power to them. I don't necessarily have to like their work, or go to see it. But on the whole, I'd rather be talked-up-to then talked-down-to, and being a little confused by a film has never permanently damaged anyone, so far as I know.

So calm down out there, you art-house-haters! It's just entertainment. Read your 20th century history. Limiting entertainment to its lowest common denominator has been tried and tried. No good has ever come of it, to my knowledge.

And incidentally, if you have a predilection for Woody Allen films, and like the look of old black and white expressionist cinema, give `Shadows and Fog' a look. It would maybe kill you?

On first viewing I wasn't crazy about Shadows and Fog, while the film looked fantastic and was well-directed the characters left me cold, the film didn't seem to know what tone it wanted and the story seemed meandering and dull. On re-watch however Shadows and Fog fared much better(as was with almost all the Allen films that didn't impress at first apart from Anything Else), it is nowhere near among Woody Allen's best and is around the lower middle of his filmography but I found it a good film and not among Allen's worst that it's often said to be. Visually, Shadows and Fog looks fantastic with brilliant black and white cinematography and Expressionistic images that are as striking as they are haunting. Allen's films are always well-made, but Shadows and Fog visually like Zelig is quite unique from a visual standpoint. The music is very eerie and fits the atmosphere perfectly, in fact if anything it adds to it. While it was confusing of what tone the film was trying to go with on first viewing, on re-watch it was much clearer and that criticism seems unfair now. The dialogue is both subtle and hilarious(love the brothel scenes) with sharp homages and insight in characteristic Woody Allen vein, but even more impressive was the murder-mystery element while a really chilling atmosphere is created, helped by the visuals and music. Allen's directing is as always adept and his performance, the most memorable, is a lot of fun. John Cusack does nervous and angsty very nicely and Jodie Foster and Kathy Bates are remarkably good in against-type roles. Shadows and Fog has imperfections, Mia Farrow for me overdoes it and comes across as shrill, John Malkovich deserved much more to do and is a little wasted and Madonna is rather out of place. The story does have its drawn out and aimless patches with an ending that felt convoluted and hurried, and the characters are not very interesting, a lot of them barely in the film. To conclude however, a good film but considering how well the best assets come off it could have been more than good. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Shadows and Fog

starring: Woody Allen, Michale Kirby, Mia Farrow, and John Malkovich

In a small european like town, lives a very nervous clerk, who out of nowhere is awaken by a group of Vigilantes who are after a serial killer in the town who strikes in the fog at night. Klienman on the way meets a dark adventure with twists, turns, suspenseful encounters with the killer himself, a few lusty whores, a female sword swallower wanting a family, a Gifted investagator using primitive techniques, and a drunk but effective magician.

Coments: I feel that this film is very UNDERrated. It is a very good film in my opinoin. Here Woody Allen creates a totally new type of meaning to the words: Adventure and Nostalgia. With a whole ensemble of celebrites, and a dark mood and setting, this is one of Allens greatest films. ****