Wild Man Blues

As though opening a door into a life that the press had been trying to bang down during his tumultuous breakup from Mia Farrow, comedian-filmmaker-clarinetist Woody Allen decided to allow documentary filmmmaker Barbara Kopple to follow him with a camera on a 1996 tour of Europe with his New Orleans jazz band. He's also joined by his sister Letty and, of course, his new wife, Soon-Yi Previn, who seems, on the evidence of the film, to be as serene as her husband is anxious. Indeed, the autobiographical nature of Allen's films becomes clear after a couple of hours of watching a man who seems to believe that the inanimate objects of the world are waging war on him: An omelet seems "vulcanized," he fears that his hotel room sheets will be breaded. The animate world is no improvement. In Venice, Allen fears that a gondolier could easily cut his throat, and the crowds and paparazzi that pursure him inspire a revulsion that's ironic in so public a figure. Yet the amused, pragmatic Soon-Yi takes it all in stride, calming her husband's fears, albeit occasionally with a hint of condescension. The director is clearly happiest in the film when playing the clarinet, and, as anyone who has seen him at Michael's Pub can vouch, his dedication to the music is wholehearted. In an amusing and revealing visit to his parents' home upon his return, the underwhelmed response of his parents to Allen's achievements may suggest the source of his fabled anxiety. WILD MAN BLUES is a must for Allen fans.