Underplayed Gems

Alex in Wonderland (1970)

Alex in Wonderland poster
Directed by
Paul Mazursky
Genre
comedy drama
Country
United States
Runtime
1h 50m
Rated
R
Rating
5.5 of 10 from 21 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

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How it feels

A successful film director struggles to decide what movie to make next. He deals with family, fantasy sequences, and offers from Hollywood producers.

anxiousself-referentialwhimsicalcerebralmelancholicmetaslow-burnnostalgic

What happens

Alex in Wonderland is a 1970 American comedy-drama film directed by Paul Mazursky, written with his partner Larry Tucker, starring Donald Sutherland and Ellen Burstyn. Sutherland plays Alex Morrison, a director agonizing over the choice of follow-up project after the success of his first feature film. The situation is similar to the one Mazursky found himself in following the success of Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969) and he casts himself in a role as a new-style Hollywood producer. His daughter Meg Mazursky appears as Amy, one of Morrison's daughters. Noted teacher of improvisational theater Viola Spolin plays Morrison's mother. The film also features cameo appearances by Federico Fellini and Jeanne Moreau, and seems to be inspired by their work. In particular, Fellini's 8½ (1963), about a film director who's artistically stuck, is referenced. Moreau sings two songs on the soundtrack, "Le Vrai Scandale" (for which she wrote the words) and "Le Reve Est La." (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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