Another great read. A line that stood out to me was: "Yet conventional has become a by-word for unimaginative." I liked the multiple movies mentioned, especially a Dan Moran classic- The Purple Rose of Cairo.
Thank you for reading! Yes, Purple Rose is a classic! And you just made me realize that the movie inside the movie is completely conventional; what happens in the real world, of course, is not.
I watched Blue Jasmin over two evenings - I found it too grim to watch in one sitting, though I'm sure its better if you get the full impact in 90 minutes. It's analogous to Woody Allen's films suggesting that reality is better than illusions, except for that, in Midnight in Paris and Rose of Cairo, the protagonist comes back from the illusions and choses reality, whereas in this movie, Cate Blanchett choses illusion. Very hard to watch! I think that, as one of you said in the podcast, 'I am Jasmine!' Comedy often makes fun of people living in illusions (Malvolio, nearly everyone in a Moliere play), and, as you both said, this is a comedy.
It made me think about the conversation we had in the Comments about the morality of the artist in relation to the work. Jasmine is contrasted with her sister, Ginger, who enjoys the simpler pleasures in life. She is lured away from her understanding that regular guys and simple pleasures are the best way to go, but she comes back to reality and her boyfriend, and they end up having fun fighting over a piece of pizza. When we were talking about Woody Allen's morality, or lack of it, Manhattan came up. A movie about a middle aged guy having an affair with a 17 year old! And what is doubly shocking is that we never noticed how wicked that is, when the movie came out in 1979. What was wrong with us! But Blue Jasmin made me think that the point about Mariel Hemingway's character is not that she's seventeen but that she likes eating cheeseburgers, roller skating and sex. She is contrasted with the neurotic and ascetic older Manhattanite women. The movie is not saying, look how wonderful it is to have an affair with a 17 year old. That's why we didn't notice. Like Blue Jasmine, and any comedy worth its salt, its pointing us back to the simpler pleasures. Of course I don't think its great in real life for a middle aged man to have an affair with a teen age girl. But the point in this movie is not the girl's youth exacttly, but that she's more mature than the older characters - just as Ginger is more mature than Jasmine.
That's an excellent point about the maturity of MH's character in Manhattan. As far as the morality of the artist ("Chinatown problem"), stay tuned--we just recorded an episode on Tar, another great Cate Blanchett movie that dramatizes that very issue. Stay tuned and thanks for reading and commenting! (And if you want another Woody-Allen-Without-Woody-Allen that I recently discovered, check out Cassandra's Dream.)
This is fantastic. I love how you connect Forster's insights to this movie's storytelling and how you re-approach the word "conventional." Blue Jasmine fulfills storytelling conventions in a way that makes them poignant, and makes you see the difference between tragedy and a paint-by-numbers formula. The flattening of how we use "conventional" now makes only the latter visible, losing the former.
Thank you! That's a good point about paint-by-numbers. I thought of Forster when I was trying to explain to myself why the plot works as well as it does. Hope to encounter you again here on Substack.
Thank you for giving credit to Woody Allen. He has made so many films that have enhanced my life. He has made many irritating films too. Blessings on you for posting this.
Another great read. A line that stood out to me was: "Yet conventional has become a by-word for unimaginative." I liked the multiple movies mentioned, especially a Dan Moran classic- The Purple Rose of Cairo.
Thank you for reading! Yes, Purple Rose is a classic! And you just made me realize that the movie inside the movie is completely conventional; what happens in the real world, of course, is not.
I enjoyed reading this. Haha…”proud as a vegan.”
Thanks! (And I confess that I laughed at my own joke when I wrote that one.).
I watched Blue Jasmin over two evenings - I found it too grim to watch in one sitting, though I'm sure its better if you get the full impact in 90 minutes. It's analogous to Woody Allen's films suggesting that reality is better than illusions, except for that, in Midnight in Paris and Rose of Cairo, the protagonist comes back from the illusions and choses reality, whereas in this movie, Cate Blanchett choses illusion. Very hard to watch! I think that, as one of you said in the podcast, 'I am Jasmine!' Comedy often makes fun of people living in illusions (Malvolio, nearly everyone in a Moliere play), and, as you both said, this is a comedy.
It made me think about the conversation we had in the Comments about the morality of the artist in relation to the work. Jasmine is contrasted with her sister, Ginger, who enjoys the simpler pleasures in life. She is lured away from her understanding that regular guys and simple pleasures are the best way to go, but she comes back to reality and her boyfriend, and they end up having fun fighting over a piece of pizza. When we were talking about Woody Allen's morality, or lack of it, Manhattan came up. A movie about a middle aged guy having an affair with a 17 year old! And what is doubly shocking is that we never noticed how wicked that is, when the movie came out in 1979. What was wrong with us! But Blue Jasmin made me think that the point about Mariel Hemingway's character is not that she's seventeen but that she likes eating cheeseburgers, roller skating and sex. She is contrasted with the neurotic and ascetic older Manhattanite women. The movie is not saying, look how wonderful it is to have an affair with a 17 year old. That's why we didn't notice. Like Blue Jasmine, and any comedy worth its salt, its pointing us back to the simpler pleasures. Of course I don't think its great in real life for a middle aged man to have an affair with a teen age girl. But the point in this movie is not the girl's youth exacttly, but that she's more mature than the older characters - just as Ginger is more mature than Jasmine.
I really enjoyed Tar. I saw it in the cinema when it came out.
I realized that Blanchett is playing a similar role in so many movies!
That's an excellent point about the maturity of MH's character in Manhattan. As far as the morality of the artist ("Chinatown problem"), stay tuned--we just recorded an episode on Tar, another great Cate Blanchett movie that dramatizes that very issue. Stay tuned and thanks for reading and commenting! (And if you want another Woody-Allen-Without-Woody-Allen that I recently discovered, check out Cassandra's Dream.)
Utter perfection. Screenplay is an A++. Casting is best since The Wizard of Oz.
Yes for Oz, even with David Gilmour doing the soundtrack. Thanks for reading!
This is fantastic. I love how you connect Forster's insights to this movie's storytelling and how you re-approach the word "conventional." Blue Jasmine fulfills storytelling conventions in a way that makes them poignant, and makes you see the difference between tragedy and a paint-by-numbers formula. The flattening of how we use "conventional" now makes only the latter visible, losing the former.
Thank you! That's a good point about paint-by-numbers. I thought of Forster when I was trying to explain to myself why the plot works as well as it does. Hope to encounter you again here on Substack.
I always think of Isaac Azimov going on one of those talk shows, touting his new book on Shakespeare.
Host: Why yet another book about Shakespeare? There are thousands already.
Azimov: Yeah, but not by me.
Exactly.
Thank you for giving credit to Woody Allen. He has made so many films that have enhanced my life. He has made many irritating films too. Blessings on you for posting this.
Thank you for saying that and for reading! Yes—his filmography is a mixed bag, like that of every other director, including the oft-revered.
Thank you so much!