Yes, the dialogue was unrealistic and heavy-handed. Yes, the conversations were often one-sided. Yes, it was preachy at times. And yes, there is something caught in Bob Dylan's throat. I feel fortunate not to have read any of the reviews of this film before I saw it, because otherwise my experience may have been tainted. I lost myself in this movie. In it's poetry. It's power. The music, alone! I found it moving, compelling, and beautiful. I'm not saying everyone is wrong who gave it a bad review. In fact, a lot of the points they made are very valid. I just think that the points they made make a stronger case for why the movie is good, not why it is bad. It's not a blockbuster, it's not an action flick, it's not a chick-flick or a romantic-comedy. It's not really like anything. The only movie I know of to compare it to, other than maybe an Ingmar Bergman film, is "Big Bad Love", with Arliss Howard. Now THERE is a slow, sparse, pretentious and indulgent film. But it works. It's poetry. It's not reality, and neither is "Masked & Anonymous". In fact, the filmmakers go a long way to make sure you know it isn't reality--or at least any particular reality. It's an allegory. It's a metaphor. Just look at the scene where Jessica Lange hears the news report on the radio saying that scientists dug the deepest hole in the world and heard the wailing of thousands of lost souls. If you think that's not supposed to be poetry right there, then you have got the wrong notion about the film as a whole. I encourage you to take another look at it from another perspective and see if your opinion changes. If it doesn't, there's nothing wrong with that, but at least you will have given it a chance.
