Blue Jasmine

Woody Allen once again mixed a slightly more serious film for us, although he certainly didn't get rid of his humor, which only shines through in some places. When you watch the film, you realize what Woody is a master of. It's the dialogues. His scripts don't have to excel with a great story, which is true in this case, but they excel in the unbelievably believable characters. Cate Blanchett proves this, not only in the final scene, when it hits you that it's really her who dominates this film. An amazingly depressing experience that will leave you unsure about what to think. (01/22/2014)

The best Allen in recent years... There is actually only one thing that hurts this film - when one perceives it as another of the director's parodies and caricatures of superficial petty bourgeoisie and snobbery. But this film is much more of a tragedy about lies and endless hypocrisy, a tragedy of a character who cannot be himself, even if he is himself. The functional mirror structure, in which Allen places a (seemingly) comic monologue at the beginning and a clearly tragic monologue at the end, well reflects the path that the viewer must find with the withdrawn, unpleasant and unsympathetic protagonist. Jasmine has a hard time laughing / smiling, and it's hard to take a clear position on her and it's hard to judge what role she should specifically play in the testimony - is it a self-parody, an ironic smile to superficiality, a serious character...? The protagonist is as unclassifiable as the chameleon and in every detail the brilliant performance of Cate Blanchett, who undoubtedly played her life role on the verge of sacrificing her appearance (in some scenes she is not even recognizable). And the bitter old man Allen unfolds a scathing anti-tale about a crumbling life so consistently and ruthlessly that I had to collect myself for a few hours after the film ended. It's good to know that Woody can still do that. And that he is still able to make a risk-evoking film like the Coens’ A Serious Man (and not only because Michael Stuhlbarg is running around in this film again). Dark, sardonic, brilliant, one of the surprises of the year. (07/30/2013)

“What will happen when there’s no more Woody?” someone wrote in their review on a Woody Allen movie. I keep asking myself that when I watch almost every single one of his movies. No one else can write such dialogue. No one else can portray characters in this way and have them played by such aptly chosen actors who, for just a small paycheck, enjoy every line. Human, intelligent, sensitive and conveyed with a light ironic touch, Blue Jasmine is also sad, making you sympathize with the protagonist. (10/05/2013)

A fantastic social satire and a masterfully drawn probe of the age-old rivals – poverty and wealth. But Woody Allen is not so transparent and silly idealistic as to show that being poor can be cool and being rich, or the habits and attitudes of the rich, are actually superficial and bad. He goes much further and blends the two worlds in a sophisticated and very sober way, showing even the complete opposites, while eviscerating and then presenting perfectly clean real-life situations every two minutes or so. When someone makes documentaries about animals or flora, it's fine, when Woody Allen makes documentaries about people, it's even more interesting. (04/14/2016)

Blue Jasmine is the most depressing Woody Allen film I've seen so far. The absolute success of this film lies in Cate Blanchett's breathtaking performance and a screenplay that sent chills down my spine and stiffened my blood. Jasmine doesn't have it easy in life, in fact her sister could talk about the misery of her life. Just when there seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel, she is suddenly overwhelmed by a pile of rocks that suffocates all hope. In short, a very well acted and written film that will stick in your mind (02/18/2014)