Review of My Dinner with Andre (1981) by Alex M — 16 Feb 2004

[size=3]There are few films that act as a better barometer of an individual's expectations of the cinema than Louis Malle's movie [i]My Dinner with Andre[/i]. To some, it is a talkative, tedious picture that does not utilize the medium of the cinema to its full advantage...the common sentiment is that it is much more conceptually feasible as a play than as a movie. To others (myself included), it is a wonderful record of the enriching, profound and thought-provoking dialogue of two close friends who debate life, death and art during an evening dinner at a New York restaurant. True, it is not a kinetic or visually inventive movie, but to say that it does not utilize the film medium is to ignore one of the basic principles of the cinema: there are no rules about what constitutes a good film. I see films for a number of reasons, not least of which is to be challenged by ideas about our existence. Judged by this criteria, [i]My Dinner with Andre [/i]is as entertaining a movie as there is...and certainly more engaging than a standard "action" movie. To describe this film as only consisting of two friends (Wallace Shawn and Andre Gregory) having a conversation is a gross injustice. Gregory's words, his descriptions of his life adventures, paint a world as real as anything that could be expressed visually. Yet I have always felt that the truly great quality of [i]My Dinner with Andre [/i] is the way it subtly accentuates the differences in the two characters' view of life. Andre has decided that modern North American culture is basically empty, and he has looked elsewhere for enlightenment. Meanwhile, Wally (the character I must admit I identify with more) feels that happiness can be found in the tiny thrills of life. Their debate extends to the theatre, where they discuss the inherent value (or perhaps ineffectiveness) of art as a catalyst for social change. The conversations of the two friends sparkle with concise and profound observations. This elevates [i]My Dinner with Andre [/i]beyond an existential debate, and makes it a genuinely endearing motion picture. There is another element that makes the film special: we can sense the true admiration and respect the two men have for each other. The film is one of the best at conveying the way we can confide in our close friends, and have philosophical discussions that we might not be as willing to have with our immediate family. [i]My Dinner with Andre [/i]commemorates all of the times that each of us has stayed up until three in the morning, telling stories, arguing with friends, drinking, eating great food...and then starting all over again the next night.[/size].

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[size=3](BASIC) [/size].