Amazon.com video review:
In 1996, with his public image at a low ebb after a messy breakup with
Mia Farrow, clarinetist and filmmaker Woody Allen set off on a tour of
Europe with his New Orleans jazz band. Accompanying him were his sister,
his soon-to-be wife Soon-Yi Previn, and Oscar-winning documentary maker
Barbara Kopple. Like Allen says as the beginning of the tour,
"Theoretically, this should be fun for us."
Woody Allen has always been more widely appreciated in Europe than in the
U.S., so it's no surprise that the concerts quickly provoke the
kind of fan hysteria usually reserved for rock stars. This star however
is clearly not comfortable with his fame. Whether he's giving a tour of
his lavish hotel suite or prodding at an unexpectedly dry omelet, the
director seems profoundly ill at ease and sometimes--when trapped by a
crowd or harassed by a particularly persistent photographer--he appears
to be both frightened and angry at the way celebrity shapes his
life. The pressure to be funny on cue is the bane of any comedian's life,
of course, and for Allen the seemingly endless round of receptions and
parties is something to be endured, not enjoyed. In the face of this,
the mutual support and affection shared by Allen and the woman he
introduces as "the notorious Soon-Yi Previn" comes across as both
genuine and absolutely necessary. When they are together, he is at his
funniest, and his least guarded.
What persuaded such a private artist to allow such a documentary to be
made? Perhaps it was a desire to celebrate his love of music, something
that appears to sustain him as much as his relationship with Soon-Yi.
He may refuse to bob his head and tap his feet to please his audience,
but when he launches into a soaring solo we finally see Allen at ease,
transported by the thrill of playing jazz. --Simon Leake
