A married American couple goes to the San Sebastian Festival and gets caught up in the magic of the event, the beauty and charm of the city and the fantasy of movies.A married American couple goes to the San Sebastian Festival and gets caught up in the magic of the event, the beauty and charm of the city and the fantasy of movies.A married American couple goes to the San Sebastian Festival and gets caught up in the magic of the event, the beauty and charm of the city and the fantasy of movies.
- Awards
- 1 win & 1 nomination total
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- Writer
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Featured reviews
Entertaining with the beautiful city of San Sebastián as a backdrop.
It isn't a great film, but I enjoyed spending time watching Wallace Shawn reciting Woody Allen's genius words about the meaning of life, the pretentiousness of art and the adrenaline of new love. Allen rarely disappoints... and this late-life crisis hits most of the classic notes.
A tribute to cinema, existentialism and Woody Allen's career.
Great story, great lines, great directing but I think casting wasn't good enough. We all know that after the allegations against Woody Allen (and I have no doubt of his innocence) casting would be a little hard to do.
Wallace Shaun isn't cogent being a couple with Gina Gershon, but he's delivered a good interpretation.
At the end, is a clear tribute to Bergman, with some points of Godard, Truffaut and Woody Allen's career.
Great story, great lines, great directing but I think casting wasn't good enough. We all know that after the allegations against Woody Allen (and I have no doubt of his innocence) casting would be a little hard to do.
Wallace Shaun isn't cogent being a couple with Gina Gershon, but he's delivered a good interpretation.
At the end, is a clear tribute to Bergman, with some points of Godard, Truffaut and Woody Allen's career.
As we get older and love doesn't seem to be enough and life is actually - quite simply inbalanced and almost artificial - watching Woody Allen movies brings life to the relatable and makes you laugh at the ridiculous of human behavior. Especially the fantasies of grandeur, - the intimacy between professor and the student or plumber and plumbers assistant, what have you, Rifkins Festival still plays at the comedy of the desperation and the fear to become stagnant.
Well shot. Good speed. Bold choice in actor, but the chemistry between authenticity and subtly feels balanced throughout.
Don't watch it expecting an Oscar. Watch it to enjoy cinema again. The movie also tells you that.
Well shot. Good speed. Bold choice in actor, but the chemistry between authenticity and subtly feels balanced throughout.
Don't watch it expecting an Oscar. Watch it to enjoy cinema again. The movie also tells you that.
I enjoyed this film. Allen speaks through Wallace Shaun whose character says he was happiest at being a film teacher. His respect and love of classical European film directors come face to face with today's and he finds today's lacking. One of my favorite scenes from Breathless is shown. Some scenes are hilarious. I found myself laughing out loud. Something I haven't done in a while. In particular, Louis Garrel character as a contemporary film director finds himself being interviewed at the festival by journalists and then the bongo drum scene. The San Sebastián location is magnificent. Lot of references to Paris and New York. When he says there's nothing like walking down Boulevard Saint-Michel in the rain - you know what he means.
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe scene in which Ingmar Bergman's The Seventh Seal (1957) chess game was recreated was filmed on the same beach where the Dragonstone landing of Game of Thrones (2011) 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.
- GoofsDuring 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 The Seventh Seal (1957) by Ingmar Bergman..
- Quotes
Mort Rifkin: Nobody wants to die. Not even for love.
Jo Rojas: You wouldn't die for love?
Mort Rifkin: I'd frankly prefer not to die for anything. And that includes sickness, old age or choking on a bagel.
- ConnectionsFeatures Breathless (1960)
- SoundtracksSan Sebastián
Composed by Stephane Wrembel
Performed by Stephane Wrembel, Thor Jensen, Josh Kaye, Ari Folman-Cohen, Nick Anderson, Scott Kettner, Adrien Chevalier, Nick Driscoll & David Langlois
- How long is Rifkin's Festival?Powered by Alexa
Details
Box office
- Gross worldwide
- $2,319,180
- Runtime1 hour 28 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 2.00 : 1
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