Blogcritics Comments on DVD Review: My Dinner with Andre

Comment by Joanie

Tue, 31 Jan 2006 22:38:21 EST

Brandon, this was chosen as an Ed. Pick for the week.

Comment by Rodney Welch

Mon, 30 Jan 2006 20:36:02 EST

Interesting point, Bliffle, particularly in light of the fact that I recently saw Persona again, and was reminded how it, too, very clearly drew from Strindberg's play. As for Andre itself, I remember it as an unequalled masterpiece. Malle placed himself under a great handicap: film a dinner-table conversation, nothing more, nothing less, make it spellbinding in and of itself, don't cheat by dramatizing anything or bringing in other characters. It sticks ruthlessly to this idea, and the result is a film like no other. I love the Linklater films cited above, but I don't think of them as an advance on Malle's idea; I think Andre might actually look more rich and strange in comparison. Malle's bare-bones approach also works like a charm in Vanya on 42nd Street, which finds the soul of Chekhov's great play by stripping it bare of conventional theatricality. These are films that are so anti-cinema that they remind you again of what cinema can do. I haven't seen Andre since it came out, mainly because I don't ever recall seeing it on video or DVD. I'm definitely up for a re-viewing.

Comment by Bliffle

Sun, 29 Jan 2006 06:36:56 EST

Wallace Shawm is properly viewed as the protaganist in this film, another fine one by Louis Malle. Maybe it's intended as a modernization of Strindbergs "The Stronger".

Comment by Joanie

Sun, 29 Jan 2006 05:54:12 EST

Wallace Shawn was fantastic in this film! He's proven himself a versatile actor with a wonderful comic flair. Definitely a must see film. Also check out his work in Crackers

Comment by Howard Dratch

Sat, 28 Jan 2006 23:44:43 EST

Actually, I remember liking My Dinner With Andr� when it came out. But I haven't sat through it since and that probably says a lot. The one thing you say that I think needs even more emphasis is what a fine actor Wallace Shawn became. Yes, he carried this film and others even as a supporting actor. My problem at the moment with him is living in Mexico without, right now, a DVD player. Wallace Shawn without his voice, speaking Spanish, loses much in the translation.