My Dinner With André

Wallace Shawn has dinner with André Gregory. Directed by Louis Malle.

I saw this film in the cinema over 20 years ago and finally got the dvd. I enjoyed rewatching the film, even though I still have some mixed feelings about it. Is it intriguing, annoying or both? My sympathy in the film lies more with Shawn, who tries to make a living and worries about paying rent, than with Gregory, who can travel abroad for half a year, trying to find himself. Still, Gregory makes some good points about breaking habits to truly feel alive. Shawn's response is, do you really need to go to some forrest in Poland to do that, can't you do it in your own apartment? Even if some of the conversation borders on pretentious, there is still lots of food for thought. Two things have changed since they made the film, I guess. The New York they talk about and show some images from in the beginning of the film, looking like the end of civilisation, doesn't exist anymore. And today, with internet, is it something that brings people closer together or further apart? I wouldn't mind hearing what Gregory has to say about that. So, My Dinner With André 2?