The Arrowtooth Waltz

source: The Arrowtooth Waltz

Moviecut—The Arrowtooth Waltz

This film is about the life of a young rebellious man getting entangled between a woman and her depressed daughter. The good points of this film is that the acting is great. Faye Dunaway is excellent as a rather emotional and neurotic woman, while Lili Taylor is astonishing as a depressed woman who tries to kill herself. Vincent Gallo gives memorable impersonations of classic film scenes. The soundtrack is also good, I particularly liked the exotic traditional folk music. However, these are about the good points I can name in the film. From the comments, I understand that the scenes are a mix of reality of fantasy. I would say that it is too difficult to distinguish between the two. Hence, the film becomes a confusing mix of scenes. The film is far too long. I would not recommend the film.

As an admirer of offbeat and unusual movies of all kinds I should have adored 'Arizona Dream'. But I didn't. To me it was a long, pointless, self indulgent mess that was a chore to watch. An interesting cast (Depp, Dunaway, Taylor, even cult favourite Michael J. Pollard), plus the awful Jerry Lewis (who I have only been able to tolerate in one movie 'The King Of Comedy', because it capitalized on his inherent unlikeableness), wander around aimlessly in a smug, self consciously quirky movie about odd people doing odd things dully. For over two hours. Help!! The ONLY reason to watch 'Arizona Dream' is to marvel at the fantastically talented and charismatic Vincent Gallo. Gallo steals every scene he is in, and is especially memorable in the Hitchcock inspired sequences which are hilarious and a joy to watch. Gallo's best work remains his directorial debut 'Buffalo 66', but his work here is first rate and is equal to his roles in 'Palookaville', 'The Funeral' and 'Truth Or Consequences, NM.' My advice, rent this movie and fast forward through any sequences that don't feature Gallo. Otherwise 'Arizona Dream' is a complete waste of time.

The 2 female leads actually give good performances, given they had nothing but disconnected, insubstantial drivel to work with. Jerry Lewis is, well, Jerry Lewis (but not at his silliest) -- I should have realized it was a French co-production when I saw he was in it! I'm in the middle of a personal Johnny Depp festival, and this really isn't very good for him. There's nothing for him to sink his teeth into, and it looks like he knows it and isn't really trying. The only thing I agree with the previous reviewer on is the music; it's very cool. The rest is self-indulgent (and boring) (and long, which makes boring even worse) pseudo-surrealism. There's too many good movies out there to waste time on this one.

To start with, i'll introduce myself. I'm 18 years old, and i love watching movies - especially movies that make you think etc. But this is simply one of the worst movies i've ever seen. I've never wasted 2 hours so bad - i saw this movie, and watched it to the end because of good comments and ratings. But i really don't see any point in this movie. During the whole movie i just feel like killing something - those two women Alex life with really make me angry. Please tell me what you think is good about this movie, because i really don't see ANYTHING Maybe it's just me being stupid and too immature to understand it, though i doubt.

Although the cast is desirable (Johnny Depp, Jerry Lewis, Faye Dunaway), the story is much too bizarre to follow. You are never really sure if the storyline is a dream (as the title would lead you to believe) or just one bad trip. The storyline is thoroughly confusing due to the characters' antics and you truly feel like you're watching a dream. A dream which you have no control over, nor can you retell what it was about after waking up. The sole reason to watch it: Johnny Depp. Probably in his prime for gorgeousness, Depp portrays Axel as a young man who truly comes to a better understanding of himself after his escapades with Elaine and Grace (Dunaway and Taylor). He possesses an innocence that is utterly touching. Overall however, a thumbs down. And keep in mind, I'm a HUGE Johnny Depp fan.

They say that "Arizona Dream" is Kusturica's best work because it is American, well, it's not that American despite it was filmed there and probably is about the American dream, it is just a story of people's lives, like in all Kusturica's films, and it's just a great work of a great film director, not depending on geographical factors. The characters aren't sexy lady journalists or successful businessmen , they are those who we call usual people - but no one in the world is usual for we aren't made at a factory, and daily routine is much more interesting, and much more humane then any sci-fi-hi-tech-futuristic stuff. all the characters are a bit crazy and so is everything around. There's some magic in there , and something tragic, and everyone's little private dreams, useless and sweet , and relations between people which seem to be one thing but are absolutely another, though the people tied by them may never notice them or never admit, and love all the way through.

Having seen this movie, I felt rather strange. This bubbly feeling in my gut kept me up in the night. I felt I had to do something for this film, confess my love in a letter, send it flowers, buy it Champagne. It left me gasping. I wanted more. So the rest of the night I watched the special features on the DVD. I realise that it is sad to have emotions about a film that would usually be reserved for living beings, however I am completely unashamed. If this movie was a man, I'd do unspeakable things to it. I don't care what it's "about". I don't give a monkey's about any "plot" that it may or may not have. I have not searched for anything that everybody conditioned to Hollywood films, however good or bad they may be, inevitably searches for in a film. Why do you need to be spoonfed? Can you not just completely let go and enjoy a work of art for its mere beauty? Sorry, journeying into pretentious land. This is undoubtedly my absolute favourite Johnny Depp film, it used to be a toss up between Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Dead Man, but I admit that this surpasses them by a fraction. I'd actually like to say that I preferred Dead Man, but I, um, didn't. Sorry. I feel I have cheated on Dead Man. There are certain scenes in Arizona Dream that show things about Johnny Depp as a performer that I never would have suspected. In this film he stepped into a realm shared by characters in the films of Fellini and Brunuel. It pleases me that he can do art house as fantastically as this and do mainstream as well, although I do not entirely approve of the stuff that is too mainstream (I.E. Pirates). His character is beautifully complex, he is a kook, but a sexy kook, and he is everything else besides. The other performances are also wonderful. Gallo is a nutcase, Taylor needs therapy, Dunaway is at the same time tyrannical and naive. Sure the characters contradict themselves, but don't we? It just keeps it all the more desirable and fascinating. For anybody who appreciates surrealist art, this is a must see. For anybody who appreciates Johnny Depp, there is no question that this film is absolutely essential.

I remember when I first realized that you really learn what people are like when they're drunk. There are the happy lushes who love the world & fill it with hugs & sloppy kisses when they've had too much. Then there are the ones who get mean, real mean - violent even, all the rage coming out. Some movies bring out the same thing in people. This is one of them. Personally, I think it's a superb movie, but then I was always a lovesick sloppy drunk, too. What more can I say? Everyone in this movie, especially Jerry Lewis is a thousand times better than they have ever been in any other movie. And Kusturica? Not only today's greatest living director, but one of the most creative & original visionaries ever to work in the medium. Breathtaking!