mobia-1 I'm very fond of films made from the late 1960s through the mid 1970s for their experimental attempts to get beyond genre conventions. I had fully expected "Alex in Wonderland" to be an overlooked psychedelic gem. While the film does have some amazing hallucinatory set-pieces (the most elaborate, a violent war in Hollywood with soldiers firing into a crowd while 2 men in top hats and tails dance on a flaming station wagon to the tune "Hooray for Hollywood"), most of the action is plodding. Donald Sutherland as Alex, goes off on many travels and tangents to entertain ideas for his next directorial effort. None of the episodic scenes build on each other and aside for gloriously lensed shots (by Laszló Kovács) of Sutherland in full hippie regalia walking introspectively in a variety of locations, there is little cumulative insight.

moonspinner55 Paul Mazursky co-wrote and directed this self-indulgent, though rarely boring, chronicle of an emerging movie director's quest to find a relevant, honest subject for his second picture. With reality and fantasy intermingling (often with a heavy hand), Mazursky is able to try out different filmmaking styles and techniques--some bold and some pretentious. This approach turns the picture into a series of vignettes, not all of which hold together, however there are wonderful individual moments amongst the dross. Donald Sutherland has a magical chance meeting with Jeanne Moreau in front of a book store, and there's an elaborate, surreal scene of war on Hollywood Boulevard (as seen through the jaundiced eye of a movie camera). A prickly bit of overstated authority on the U.S./Mexico border (with Sutherland singled out possibly because of his long hair and beard) is still topical today, however the circus folk and hippie longueurs probably looked embarrassing and dated only a year or so after the movie was released. An excursion to Rome seems included only to get a Federico Fellini cameo in the movie (Mazursky emulates Fellini's "8½" throughout, however the director's bit part is a gambit that fails to pay off). Everyday scenes of family life (house hunting, grocery shopping, etc.) are handled far too lackadaisically, although the depiction of Hollywood, California circa 1970 (wherein the Old Regime has been replaced with the avant garde New Wave) has a pointed preciseness which makes "Alex in Wonderland" an occasionally bracing document of its era. ** from ****

Vyth I really liked this slice of California in the 70's (late 60's?) Donald Sutherland rules. plain and simple.. his charisma would carry a film even if it were not so well put together as this one... his character is likable but realistic, faults included.. whatever.. I just wanted to recommend the film.. I like a film to set a mood and take you there.. and this does just that, i feel like I know what it would be like to be a director on the verge of having it all in the early 70's, and for an hour and a half I lived it with the cast..I felt like the mood was similar to that of "Close Encounters of the Third Kind", at the beginning, just watching Richard Drefuss's character with his family.. just like a glimpse of what that life would be.. with the good times, and the arguments etc etc.. no explosions, no car chases, just a slice of life.

mifunesamurai A film director has trouble in finding a subject for his next film, therefore having a director's block that allows for family confrontation, surreal illusions and the descent into a creative breakdown. I found it interesting and my wife was frightened by it, believing I'm heading down the same road!