As I've started trying in the last decade to watch as many Oscar-nominated films as possible, I've had the realization that I'm eventually going to have to knock out the 10 Woody Allen films that I haven't seen that received Oscar nominations. This is the first chronologically of those 10, and it has the added benefit of not starring Allen.
I liked the story, but the dialogue was a little silly at times, which made the performances suffer as Diane…
I'm worried that this film might have ruined my enjoyment of Maurice Chevalier's "Sweeping the Clouds Away". Anyway, this is a rich, complex, nuanced, and painfully relevant examination of the many facets and shades of gray that emerge when people are forced to choose between what is right and what is easy, and the various forms of self-delusion present. It's the kind of material that really requires a rewatch, which is a tough ask at 251 minutes (and even tougher considering how hard the film is to find).
I struggle with a rating here, because although it seems quite thoughtfully made, I found it immensely boring. In this true story of Madame Clicquot's struggle to gain success in the champagne business during the Napoleonic Wars in the wake of her husband's death, I learned from the title card at the end of the film that her innovative techniques changed the way champagne was made forever. I really wish that would have been a bigger part of this film,…
