Masked and Anonymous (DVD, 2004)

If you like Bob Dylan and his music, this movie is for you. Strange dialogue will keep you muttering, what are they talking about? Futuristic and fun, so see it!

If you're a Bob Dylan fan, you'll love this film! Even though Mr. Dylan didn't write the script, it plays out just like a Dylan tune. You have to pause, & look a little bit past the obvious to catch the real meaning. And if you are a fan of Dylan's Symbolisim, you & your fellow fans will really enjoy watching this together & discussing what it all means & represents!! A good excuse for a small gathering.

The cast is awesome!! Lot's of surprises there. I won't spoil it by saying more. All in all....I rate this one 5***** !! Perhaps the "Sleeper" of the decade!!

I picked up my copy here on eBay for about $8 New! So get yourself one & check it out!! Enjoy!!......BLUZMAN375

Have been wanting to see this movie for a while and just decided to purchase it and watch it a couple weeks ago. I thoroughly enjoyed it and the cast is really superb.

MAsked and Annonymous is one of the best movies of the 21st century despite the fact the "critics" panned this as another one of "Dylans Follies".
Although regarded as dystopian by most accounts, the movie has resonance with those of us who relie on public transportation or spend time in Greater Aztlan.
Personnalt i was engaged by the staging, the inversion of societal hierarchy as well as the deflation of "populists" of all stripes.
The performances were first rate [Goodman has never sone a role batter than Uncle Sweetheart] and The portayal of the "news media" by Dern and Bridges was not only priceless but spot on to any viewer of Fox News Channel or CNN Headline News.
Of special note was Cheech Marin as "Prospero". Although short, his interaction with Dylan was funny, pongiant and true.
I would be remiss in not mentioning the band "Twist of Fate". Yes it's Dylans road band, and yes they really don't act, but from the moment they are introduced through to the end, they are the REAL THING. This is how bands are, act, exist.
IF I had any dislike to this film [and for me it is hard to find fault] would be in some of the lighting choices [the network meeting comes to mind] as we lose some of the availible resolution on the scheduling board, thus losing a valuble piece of humor.
This leaves us with the performance of Jack Fate himself, Bob Dylan.
A little over 20 years ago Paul Simon positied a "what if" scenario with
"One Trick Pony", with Paul as a character named Jonah. This perhaps is a diffrent approach to the same story with Jack Fate being "over before he started". But in this case it is recast in a more Southwestern [ I decline to describe this as Californian due to the resonance one can find in South Texas, New Mexico as well as Arizona] motif with a decidedly "Third World" flavor and resonance.
But JAck Fate is no Jonah. Jack is incarcerated, sprung for a telethon and in the end takes the fall for a friend. His relationships are strongest in the creative realm and weakest in the fundamental "man-woman" realm. Although he goes "home", in the end he must follow Dharma and suffers the accompanying Karma with calm and equanimity.
Jack though has moments of verbal and physical comedy that taken for themselves remind us of Charlie Chaplin and Popeye the Sailor.
My decision to buy this movie was made some years ago viewing it on the big screen [in an almost empty theater] and fianlized when I took my cousins to a screening of this movie in Manila,Philippines ["Primo! Bob Dylan made a Filipino movie!" Yes it's set in that other America (You know, the one John Edwards doesn't even know exists) but the Filipinos saw it from a more Kantian Universal concept.]
To conclude, Masked and Anonymous is a movie of many levels, perhaps the cinema equavilant of "All Along the Watchtower". If you're tired of the same old "Blockbuster" formula and not afraid to think, this movie is perfect. On the other hand, you are married to ideology [progressive or conservative, as Mishima observed, "This Knife cuts both ways."] just save your moneyor the product you are most comfortable with.
Bundling Recomendation: view this with "I'm Not There" and some good friends with wit and insight. You'll not be disappointed!

First of all, I have to admit this review comes from a Dylan fan. Not just a fan, but a fan of his later work. The plot of the story revolves around the decaying remnants of the USA and a scheme to put on a benefit rock concert to supposedly aid war victims. Dylan plays the rock star picked for the show and he deals with his relationship with his father, who is the dying president of the country. Several songs are performed by Dylan and his band as they prepare for the show and the entire soundtrack is from Dylan's catalog with most of those songs performed by other artists including several in foreign languages.

It is obvious that this is a pretty low budget production, but it is amazing the caliber of performers that signed up to play a part in this film. This movie is chock full of A and B list actors and actresses and they wring everything they can out of every bit of dialog. On the other hand, Dylan's acting style is very minimalist, to say the least. He is almost expressionless throughout the entire movie. In a very poignant scene with his ex-lover I was almost yelling at the tv screen, "Do something, shed a tear, smile, anything!" It was very disconcerting. Some time later I saw Dylan's music video for "Things Have Changed" and I thought he showed more emotion in a 4 minute video than he did in a 90 minute movie.

The best parts were the way they poked fun at Dylan's legacy and all the ways people interpret his songs. The dialog is really thick and verbose but full of witty lines interesting thoughts. The music is great and I loved him performing with his band. I laughed when he punched Jeff Bridges and knocked him down. It looked like Bridges outweighed him by over 50 pounds.

I recommend this movie for someone who wants to see something quirky and different from the usual Hollywood movie. I would also recommend fans of the actors and actresses involved as they all put in intense performances. Lastly, I would recommend this movie to Dylan fans. This was really the first time I got to see him walking around and interacting with others. I had no idea he was such a scrawny little fellow. Whatever you do, don't take it too seriously, I would have to call this movie a comedy when it is all said and done.