THE PURPLE ROSE OF CAIRO (1985), the Woody Allen film with an impossible name, is the sweet and wildly imaginative Depression-era story of Cecilia, a clumsy waiter with head in the clouds in a very-depressed New Jersey, whose only solace in life are the movies she watches in total fascination at her local movie theater. Cecilia (played by a perfectly-cast Mia Farrow) is treated like dirt by her unemployed, gambling and womanizing husband Monk (played with authority by Danny Aiello). One day as she is watching The Purple Rose of Cairo at the movie theater, the handsome lead archeologist Tom Baxter (Jeff Daniels) character just walks out of the screen and declares his love to Cecilia in real life! Pandemonium follows both on the screen (because the rest of the actors now do not know how to proceed after this unexpected violation of the scripted plot line) and the theater itself because the patrons are outraged that the story cannot be brought to a closure and they have to wait for the return of Tom Baxter for relief. Reports reach Hollywood that in other cities Tom Baxter character is also stepping out of the screen and disappearing from sight. Who knows what he might be doing?! The studios might end up getting sued big time. Thats why the producers fly in Gil Shepard, the actor who breathed life into the TB character, to find TB and convince him to return to the movie so that they can turn off the movie projector safely, without any legal repercussions! (How can anyone not respect such daring imagination!) Gil Shepard (again played by Jeff Daniels) also falls in love with Cecilia and promises to take her to Hollywood if she returns his love. Cecilia is torn between two attractive lovers who are both promising to take her to a world much better than what her good-for-nothing parasitic husband can provide. One very touching scene that brought tears to my eyes shows Tom Baxter, the fictitious character who has no idea about the realities of the world, is taken to a brothel by a hooker he meets at a deserted amusement park. The call girls are captivated by this handsome but awkward guy wearing a pitted helmet and safari outfit in the middle of New Jersey. They try to steer him to bed but he refuses all advances by declaring that it is impossible for him to bed with another woman since his heart totally belongs to Cecilia. In the face of such impossibly pure and untainted love, one of the hookers asks him if there are more guys like you out there because shed certainly love to get one for herself. Thats a scene which drives home the message that sometimes fictitious characters and figments of our imagination live a life more noble and meaningful that we real people can ever hope to lead. At the end Cecilia believes in Gil Shepards promises. Tom Baxter steps back into the movie, heart broken. And just as we thought the matter is settled and Cecilia will sail towards a happy end, she realizes that there is a different future waiting for her. And there'll always be new films to pave the way to that bittersweet future. That very last and long-shot of Mia Farrow's angelic face transfixed by the magic of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers is another reason why you must definitely watch this movie. A beautiful fairy tale for adults, full of smart humor and many scenes that force us meditate on the relative merits of reality versus illusion in our daily lives. Scores a full 9 out of 10, easily. -------------------------------------------- |
