"Dad was a real card; I never met him—he died before the movie started."
This is probably the oldest film that I've seen that qualifies as both an Isekai and reverse Isekai. The characters and dialogue are just what you'd expect from a Woody Allen film under those circumstances. It's both hilarious and touching, often within the same scene. The initial fourth wall break was properly magical—I've legitimately never experienced anything else like it—at least not since I was a child—with the possible exception of Makoto Shinkai's Kimi No Nawa, or The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006), both of which are animated. All three brought tears to my eyes. It's rare that a live action film can create the same kind of uncanny magic as the very best animated fantasy films. Part of that was making an exacting replica of the glamour films of the 1930s. They must have used the same vintage cameras and film stock to shoot those portions, because anything else wouldn't have been convincing, and the sets were likewise indistinguishable.
The bit parts of the movie theater audience, and the secondaries of the characters within the film-within-the-film provide some of the biggest laughs. The Countess' scathing retorts and admonishments were all like hot lead.
What starts out as a fairly grounded tale of the hardships of life during the great depression ends up being mixed with a surreal fantasy comedy. I'll just end with a nebulous warning that the ending might not be what you hope for or expect.
A film within a film.
Shout by DeletedBlockedParent2014-01-14T00:00:15Z
Cecilia is an ordinary woman with an ordinary life and her greatest passion is going to the movies. The story is passed during the Golden Age of Hollywood where the films were able to enchant with their glamourous worlds and charming actors. Cecilia lived every moment of the stories that she was seeing.
Loving cinema is about escaping reality and enjoy a piece of fantasy, like some kind of magic that makes people jump into a different world and experience the situations of the life of other fictional characters. That's what Cecilia liked to do, she escaped from her own life and there she also could forget the problems of her own life, there she could be totally happy. One day, just like magic her biggest with came true. One of the character's of one of the movies that Cecilia watched over and over again jumped out of the screen to live in the real world with her! But sometimes things are not that simple in the real world.
The Purple Rose of Cairo is another great work from Woody Allen's. This man's work is absolutely creative and is amazing how he can always be so clever in the way he tells his stories. Combined with a great writing and direction, once again, the performances are great too, Mia Farrow's especially.
I would like to mention the last scene which I think is perfect. Is sad and touching but absolutely beautiful at the same time. Mia Farrow's face and the look on her eyes demonstrate the joy that can be brought to us while watching a film. Cinema can make us dream even if it's just for a while but it can also remind us of what reality is.
The Purple Rose of Cairo is absolutely lovely.