Rifkin's Festival (2020)

A married American couple go to the San Sebastian Festival and get caught up in the magic of the event, the beauty and charm of the city and the fantasy of movies.

Director:

Woody Allen

Writer:

Woody Allen

Stars:

Wallace Shawn, Gina Gershon, Louis Garrel

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Wallace Shawn	...	Mort Rifkin
Gina Gershon	...	Sue
Louis Garrel	...	Philippe
Elena Anaya	...	Jo Rojas
Sergi López	...	Paco
Richard Kind	...	Mort's Father
Nathalie Poza	...	Mort's Mother
Steve Guttenberg	...	Jake
Tammy Blanchard	...	Doris
Christoph Waltz	...	Death
Andrea Trepat	...	Dr. Rojas' Assistant
Carmen Salta	...	Marcia Cohen
Enrique Arce	...	Tomás Lopez
Douglas McGrath	...	Gil Brenner
Ben Temple	...	Dr. Kline

Storyline

The film tells the story of an American couple attending the San Sebastian International Film Festival. The charm of that small city in the North of Spain and the charm of the world of cinema soon seduce the couple. She has a slip with a brilliant French film director, while he falls in love with a young Spanish resident in the city.

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Plot Keywords:

san sebastian international film festival | san sebastian spain | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for suggestive/sexual material and some drug use, language and thematic elements

Did You Know?

Trivia

The scene in which Ingmar Bergman's "The Seventh Seal" chess game was recreated was filmed on the same beach where the Dragonstone landing of "Game of Thrones" was filmed. Christoph Waltz, dressed in a heavy black robe withstood high temperatures in the sun (40 degrees Celsius) on the hottest day of the last half century in the area.

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Goofs

During the game of chess played against Death, the table appears incorrectly rotated. According to the rules of chess, the right square on the bottom row of each player should be white. Both players should know better than to make this mistake. Interestingly, the same mistake appears in the original movie "Det sjunde inseglet" by Ingmar Bergman.

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Quotes

Mort Rifkin: What it's all about? Is this everything that there is or is there more?

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Connections

Spoofs The Seventh Seal (1957)

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Soundtracks

Dreaming of Rose
Written by Rolando Gori

User Reviews

Keep Going Mr. Allen

I just read an article suggesting Woody Allen should retire because he no longer makes good movies and so on. I am not a film critic, but as a film fan that has been enjoying his films at least once a year for quite some time, I beg to differ.

It would have been easy for him to make a film every 7 years give or take like many do and discard everything in between. In my opinion the way he has done things is braver and his fans are thankful for that.

Yes, perhaps he is an ageing "star" but for people who have grown used to his humor and literary and cinematic references, watching his films is still more enjoyable than the random Hollywood offering.

Perhaps this film is not one of his strongest ones, but these times are surely trying, and perhaps, even more for him. Even then, once a year, I still count on him.

Details

Country:

Spain USA Italy

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

2 October 2020 (Spain)

Also Known As:

Wasp 2019

Filming Locations:

Donostia-San Sebastián, Guipúzcoa, País Vasco, Spain

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mediapro, Gravier Productions, Wildside

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Color:

Color Black and White (some scenes)

Aspect Ratio:

2.00 : 1