Shadows and Fog

A killer moves through a fog-bound night in an unnamed Central European town. Kleinman, a minor clerk, is pulled out of his home in the middle of the night to join a vigilante group; nobody will tell him what the plan is. That same night a sword swallower who has run from the circus is out on the streets. The film is not interested in the murders. It is interested in the absurdity of organisation: everyone says they are part of a plan, nobody knows the plan, and looking for a culprit quickly becomes accusing each other. The form imitates German expressionism throughout: black and white, crooked streets, fog machines, hard shadows. The music comes from Kurt Weill and the design salutes twenties German cinema directly. Woody Allen wrote, directed and plays Kleinman; the film was shot on one of his most expensive sets and did not work commercially. The cast is unusually crowded: Mia Farrow, John Malkovich, Madonna, Jodie Foster, Kathy Bates, John Cusack and Lily Tomlin. Who it is for: viewers drawn to the visual language of expressionism and to Allen's experiments. Who it is not for: anyone expecting his relationship comedies. This film is cold and dark and its jokes feed on dread.