Review of Shadows and Fog (1991) by Jason G — 25 Mar 2010

SHADOWS AND FOG is fantastic in the visual department but lacks anything even closely resembling cohesion in terms of story.

An all-star cast that's criminally misused and the "Kafka-esque" undertones that Woody Allen slips into the piece here and there are entirely wasted by his simply hinting at them, instead of fully exploring them.

This is not a comedy, it's not a drama, it tries it's hand at suspense and even offers up brief moments of horror but ultimately, it's a film with an incredible identity crisis.

Allen is a fairly ego-centric film maker to begin with but SHADOWS AND FOG strikes me as his biggest self-congratulatory piece ever. In addition to the vague homage he pays Kafka, there is an obvious cinematic nod to Bergman's "The Seventh Seal" as well. The two styles don't really seem to work together though, and I finished the film feeling as if it was just Woody's way of showing us that he's "smart enough" to know who these two men were in the first place.

Good for you Woody...

You're very clever!

Good for you.

The final frustration is realising that after 90minutes... it's impossible to decide what type of film SHADOWS AND FOG wants to try to be.

There are a few memorable lines and the scenes featuring Donald Pleasance are the ones that stand out the most for me but all things considered... SHADOWS AND FOG is one of my least favourite Woody Allen films.