Undescribable Perfection

Expected more

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

A brilliant mockumentary from Mr. Allen, it is the zenith of his satirical comedic career. It is the sort of off-beat filmmaking that he should perhaps consider exploring again these days even if he's not able to replicate the success of this one. The world still thirsts for those. This film is one of the more successful Allen-Farrow collabs that consists of 12-and-a-third films, and in the subcategory of Mr. Allen's filmography where the two actually had screen time together, seven-and-a-third in my count, this tops the bunch in its tenderness and poignancy. Hannah and Her Sisters and Crimes and Misdemeanors only comes as a close second and third in that distinction. It is worth checking out other works having a darker take on the themes addressed in this film regarding psychiatry, etc., the profound dystopic sci-fi films La Jetee by Chris Marker and its cinematic progeny, Twelve Monkeys by Terry Gilliam.Exceptional cinematography from Mr. Gordon Willis, inserting those faux-newsreel footage with the real ones are just cunning and way ahead of its time. The soundtrack with those uproarious songs such as "Leonard the Lizard," "Doin' the Chameleon," "Chameleon Days" by Dick Hyman blends in as well and passes of a genuine thing of having made in pre WW-Two.This film is a convergence of Mr. Allen's brilliance of different skills sets that showcases his mastery of the cinematic medium: directing, acting (the most iconic Woody Allen on display here), and writing.Only criticism that can be thrown in this film is that it would have been better if it ended at the halfway mark, the point where Zelig mutters that pancakes quote under a hypnotic trance. That definite quote already hit the bull's-eye. The pay-off ended already there, sad to say.My rating: A-flat.

Woody Allen's 1983 film, Zelig was an interesting concept for a film. In the style of a mockumentary, Woody Allen starred as a man who was a literal human chameleon, appearing in the background newsreel footage through many different periods of history as he assumed the role of the context he was in. Zelig was able to change anything about himself, including his ethnicity with almost no effort. Eventually, under the care of a world-renowned psychologist, it was discovered that Zelig suffered from an insatiable need for ultimate conformity with the goal of being universally liked. The rest of the mockumentary delved into the psychological and legal struggles of a man who could change so much about himself so effortlessly. Perhaps, Zelig suffered from my not being in the right frame of mind to take it in, or perhaps it was just so different from what I expected at that moment, or perhaps it is simply a film that begs a second viewing but I didn't love it as much as I loved many other films I've been watching throughout this Woody Allen project. Zelig uses the mockumentary style in the best way that I have ever seen, those types of films don't impact me, personally, but I can recognize that Zelig used this format well. Zelig is complete with a traditionally perfect Woody Allen opening, and plenty of trademarks of the director to make any Woody Allen fan happy. Zelig grapples with death and identity, in perhaps the deepest way I've seen yet. The film is also another in his oeuvre that uses gorgeous black and white photography. What was missed, however, was the incredible dialogue I've come to expect from Woody Allen films, which was a bit of a letdown.

This is a masterfully done film, presented in documentary format (though entirely fictional). Allen plays a man, Leonard Zelig, who can morph into virtually any character, depending on his immediate environment. We are treated to newsreel footage as this character achieves world prominence as a true chameleon. I was greatly intrigued by the premise, but somehow, the story wasn't terribly interesting to me. Allen needs to be complimented for his great reach. It has some hilarious moments, but also has a harsher, deeper side. I guess this is what makes Woody Allen's milieu so impressive. See it for its dynamic effort to create a great character.

Woody Allen's genius, intelligence and wit are often only hampered by his insistence to play the same character over and over again in a multitude of films, or at least a version of that archetypal protagonist: a whiny, talky, at any rate neurotic American Jew with never ending problems in the romantic area. This makes him a welcome guest for shrinks, and the resulting filmed self-analysis is all garnished with the typical sophisticated Woody Allen humor. In "Zelig" he is all that and more. As this time our hero proves more adaptable. Literally. And it's a good thing.Allen, who brought the world such fresh comedy ideas like film stars stepping out of the screen, characters sensing that they might be out of focus, writers lost between fiction and reality to name just a few, created with "Zelig" one of the best mockumentaries to date. Subject of course is this peculiar director/writer/actor, who loses himself in the role of a human chameleon, a freak of nature, who has anything but an identity to count on. Apparently his former roles as time traveler, dictator by accident or Vulgarian "spy" were not enough, so Allen pulls out all the stops and turns clown, dentist, professor, Indian, black, fat, mustached and what not - all in one picture. Adapting involuntarily to anything regardless of profession, ethnic or political orientation, the Zelig character goes all the way through, even finding himself consequently in Nazi Germany at a Hitler rally. And he makes a point. Aside from the comic effect of this premise and its perfect execution via newsreels, photo manipulation and the like containing mystifying historical details that never happened, there's that other level to the film as well: "Zelig" deals head on with the complex relationship between individual and society, poses questions about identity and assimilation, and in bringing up all those serious issues is simply hilarious.