_Rifkin's Festival_ is an interesting romance movie from Woody Allen. It does have some moments of humor, but this is a romantic drama, to be sure.
We follow Mort Rifkin - who is this movie's Woody avatar, all be it a very subdued version - as he tags along with his wife, Sue, at a film festival. The festival itself is irrelevant, what's pertinent is the dissolution of his marriage during this time. As Sue investigates just how green the proverbial grass appears to be with the young Philippe, Mort chances his way into the company of the beautiful Doctor Jo Rojas. This is the story, in a nutshell. A very mature film by Allen, full of just enough comedy, and romance to be interesting, while staying grounded as a serious, believable drama. A pitfall too many romantic comedies or romantic dramas fall into is that they have to bend reality to the point that no sane person should find them appealing. I get it, we're watching a movie, but what Woody understands and has the prowess to write, convincingly, is a very grounded story about where love can take us.
In lesser hands, _Rifkin's Festival_ would have ended one of two ways, both with Mort receiving all too easy of a conclusion. Here we have an open end with no real crescendo. It's as if the story builds, and never stops at a solid point; it simply climbs, and leaves you at that height. Not so much a happy ending, as it is an optimistic end. And that's really life, isn't it? We just keep going.
Allen continues to be one of my favorite directors. His movies, be they comedies or dramas, always make me think or feel, but never insult my intelligence.
Lastly, how cool was it to see Steve Guttenberg in a movie again? Such an icon from the 1980s back in a small role, but utilized in such a way to make you ask, "wait, is that Steve Guttenberg?!"