History Film / MyDinnerWithAndre

The 1981 movie was directed by Creator/LouisMalle and written by its stars. In it, Wallace (played by Creator/WallaceShawn), a playwright and actor, goes to a restaurant to meet his old friend Andre (played by Andre Gregory), whom he hasn't seen for a while, and the film essentially follows their conversation over dinner throughout the course of the evening. It begins with Andre discussing his experiences since Wallace has last seen him, which mostly involves experimental theatre in various exotic locales, before the two men become involved in a friendly debate between Andre's spiritualistic and idealistic worldview and Wallace's down-to-earth and pragmatic humanism.

* BookEnds: The film begins and ends with Wally traveling to and from the dinner. Tellingly, Wally on the way there is miserable and feeling old, reminiscing about riding around in taxis when he was a boy and thinking about art and life instead of money. The end has him springing for a taxi and thinking about art and life.

* ArtisticLicenceArt: There's a reference to Creator/IngmarBergman's Film/AutumnSonata at the start of the film that misquotes the film. Wallace's narration tells us that Andre quoted Creator/IngridBergman's character saying "I could always live in my art, but never in my life." The actual line from the film was "Only through music did I get a chance to reveal my emotions. Sometimes when I lie awake at night, I wonder whether I've lived at all."

* ArtisticLicenceArt: There's a reference to Creator/IngmarBergman's Film/AutumnSonata at the start of the film that basically makes up a quote for brevity's sake. Wallace's narration tells us that Andre quoted Creator/IngridBergman's character saying "I could always live in my art, but never in my life." The actual line from the film was "Only through music did I get a chance to reveal my emotions. Sometimes when I lie awake at night, I wonder whether I've lived at all."

* ArtisticLicenceArt: There's a reference to Creator/IngmarBergman's AutumnSonata at the start of the film that basically makes up a quote for brevity's sake. Wallace's narration tells us that Andre quoted Creator/IngridBergman's character saying "I could always live in my art, but never in my life." The actual line from the film was "Only through music did I get a chance to reveal my emotions. Sometimes when I lie awake at night, I wonder whether I've lived at all."

* ArtisticLisenceArt: There's a reference to IngmarBergman's AutumnSonata at the start of the film that basically makes up a quote for brevity's sake. Wallace's narration tells us that Andre quoted IngridBergman's character saying "I could always live in my art, but never in my life." The actual line from the film was "Only through music did I get a chance to reveal my emotions. Sometimes when I lie awake at night, I wonder whether I've lived at all."

* GodwinsLaw: No matter what Andre talks about he seems to find a way to compare it fascism, Nazism, Hitler, concentration camps, etc. Invoked more subtly in how when Wally finally starts pushing back against Andre's rhetoric he references the philosopher Martin Heidegger, who quite infamously was also a nazi.

* GodwinsLaw: Andre likes to throw references to Hitler and the word "fascistic" around quite liberally.

* SpeechCentricWork: A particularly well-known example.

Okay, so maybe not the most exciting plot ever. But it's regarded as a cult classic among aficionados of independent cinema for its philosophical themes and minimalist presentation. It's also unique; whatever else can be said, there are not that many movies out there like it. And hey, it's probably one of the most easy-to-summarise movies in existence.

* AsHimself: Played with; although the characters are named after the actors who play them, and some of the events they describe apparently happened, both Wallace Shawn and Andre Gregory have denied that they are playing themselves entirely. In an interview with Creator/RogerEbert, they've stated that were they to remake the movie they'd swap roles to prove the point. In another interview, with Creator/NoahBaumbach, Shawn said "I wanted to destroy that guy that I played, to the extent that there was any of me there. I wanted to kill that side of myself by making the film, because that guy is totally motivated by fear."

* BookEnds: The film begins and ends with Wally traveling to and from the dinner. Tellingly, Wally on the way there is miserable, and feeling old, reminiscing about riding around in taxis when he was a boy and thinking about art and life instead of money. The end has him springing for a taxi and thinking about art and life.

* BuildingOfAdventure: There isn't much of an adventure going on but the movie takes place mostly in the restaurant.

-->'''Andre:''' Don't you see that comfort can be dangerous? I mean, you like to be comfortable, and I like to be comfortable, too, but comfort can lull you into a dangerous tranquillity. I mean, my mother knew a woman, Lady Hatfield, who was one of the richest women in the world, and she died of starvation because all she would eat was chicken. I mean, she just liked chicken, Wally, and that was all she would eat, and actually, her body was starving, but she didn't know it cause she was quite happy eating her chicken, and so, she finally died. See, I honestly believe that we're all like Lady Hatfield now, we're having a lovely, comfortable time with our electric blankets and our chicken, and meanwhile we're starving because we're so cut off from contact with reality that we're not getting any real sustenance... 'cause we don't see the world. We don't see ourselves. We don't see how our actions affect other people.

* DesperatelyLookingForAPurposeInLife: Wally is in a deep funk having realized he's become money-obsessed and stuck in a rut. Andre has been traveling the world trying to find ''some'' inspiration, and more or less failing. Both have become frustrated at not being able to find it.

* LastNameBasis: Andre and Wally's friend who worked in paratheatrical experiments is [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerzy_Grotowski Jerzy Grotowski]], but he's always referred to as "Grotowski".[[note]]Ironically, Grotowski stopped doing paratheatrics because the improv nature of the work always meant that the actors would fall back on cliche. This disillusionment is hinted at by Andre when describing the beehive, and is probably one of the reasons he admits that his adventures weren't satiating whatever hunger he had.[[/note]]
* LeFilmArtistique: They're not seen, but Andre's descriptions of his forays into experimental theatre qualify. For example, Andre said he'd wanted to use a ''real'' decapitated head for his production of ''[[Theatre/{{Bacchae}} The Bacchae]]'', but the lead actress absolutely refused to carry around a real head and hand it around the audience. The movie itself is frequently discussed as an example of this trope, but compared to the stereotypically [[TrueArtIsIncomprehensible incomprehensible]] and pretentiously aloof works that this trope spoofs it's actually fairly straightforward and simple to understand, and while the conversation the two men engage in touches on some pretty high-falutin' concepts they're presented in a fairly accessible way for the audience, as you would expect from two friends conversing over dinner.

* MinimalistCast: There are only really two characters in this thing. However, Louis Malle takes great pains to remind the audience that the duo are in a restaurant, with the mildly disapproving waiter, and the laughter of a female couple on occasion in the background. The intent is to make sure the audience knows that they are just one of many overhearing this conversation -- and this is one of many conversations they happen to be overhearing.

-->'''Andre:''' When all of a sudden, a huge creature appeared, looking at the congregation! It was about, I'd say, six foot eight, something like that, you know, and it was half bull, half man, it's skin was blue, it had violets growing out of its eyelids and poppies growing out of its toenails, and it just stood there for the whole mass. I mean, I could not make that creature disappear. You know, I thought: "Oh, well, you know, I'm just seeing this because I'm bored," you know. I could not make that creature go away. Okay, now: I didn't talk with people about it, because they'd think I was weird. But I felt that this creature was somehow coming to comfort me. That somehow he was appearing to say: "Well! You may feel low, and you might not be able to create a play right now. But look what can come to you, on Christmas eve! Hang on, old friend! I may seem weird to you, but on these weird voyages, weird creatures appear! It's part of the journey. You're okay! Hang in there!"

* SadClown: Andre seems chipper, but one of the running themes of the film is about wearing a mask. When Wally first greets Andre, "You look great!", Andre cheerfully replies, "I ''feel'' terrible!" Andre then shows a picture of himself during his experiences in Poland, and he looks desperately unhappy, despite being "reborn" there. He then notes that a picture he had of Chiquita which he thought looked sexy now looked, with his more experienced eyes, as very sad. Later, Andre notes that he's more open with his emotions - when he's annoyed by his family, he ''tells'' them they're annoying him (to their shock).

* SliceOfLife: PlayedWith. What's shown onscreen is little more than a casual two-hour conversation in a restaurant. However, the weird stories Andre tells could of themselves make the plots of entire movies.

** Given the very grounded and unbiased way the movie treats the characters and their conversation during the dinner, the movie is squarely in the middle of the scale, slight leaning towards idealism thanks to both characters getting pretty well with each other despite their disagreements and Wally having seemingly found a new insight on life after talking to Andre.

* LeFilmArtistique: They're not seen, but Andre's descriptions of his forays into experimental theatre qualify. The movie itself is frequently discussed as an example of this trope, but compared to the stereotypically [[TrueArtIsIncomprehensible incomprehensible]] and pretentiously aloof works that this trope spoofs it's actually fairly straightforward and simple to understand. For example, Andre said he'd wanted to use a ''real'' decapitated head for his production of ''[[Theatre/{{Bacchae}} The Bacchae]]'', but the lead actress absolutely refused to carry around a real head and hand it around the audience.

* MohsScaleOfViolenceHardness: Level 0. It's as non-violent as a film could possibly be.

* SocietyMarchesOn: Averted -- sadly, most of the issues raised in the film are still around. The only indication that this is New York in 1980 is that it's [[TheBigRottenApple much grimier and dirtier]] than it is now.

* ActorAllusion: Andre discusses Gunnar Björnstrand, who starred in Creator/IngmarBergman's ''Film/ThroughAGlassDarkly'', which ''My Dinner'' takes some of its inspiration from. Björnstrand plays a writer, just like Wally and Andre.

* ShapedLikeItself:
-->'''Andre''': You see a terrorist on the news, they look ''just like'' a terrorist.

* ShoutOut: To ''Literature/TheLittlePrince'', although Andre really rags on it, even comparing it to Nazism. He winds up discussing many of the same themes explored in the book as the night goes on, however, including feelings of isolation, questions about love, connections between people, and exploration vs. isolation/introspection.

[[quoteright:342:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/my_dinner_with_andre_1_3900.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:342:In a nutshell; this, for about two hours.[[note]] Left to right: Wallace, Andre.[[/note]]]]

** Andre contrasts [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunnar_Bj%C3%B6rnstrand Gunnar Björnstrand]] and Findhorn Commune. While both agree that the world is descending into a materialistic "Orwellian nightmare", Andre notes Björnstrand thinks there's no hope for the world, while the people at Findhorn think that there is, by creating "oases" of human expression and thought where people can escape modern life.

-->''"I mean, you know, people hold on to these images of father, mother, husband, wife... again for the same reason... 'cause they seem to provide some firm ground. But there's no wife there. What does that mean? A wife. A husband. A son. A baby holds your hands... and then suddenly there's this huge man lifting you off the ground... and then he's gone. Where's that son?"''

* MagicVersusScience: Discussed by Andre and Wally. During their dinner conversation, Andre has extolled the virtues of a spiritual and emotional awakening from his experiences influencing the way he lives his life. Wally has taken these stories on board, and even admits that some small unconscious part of him entertains the idea of wishful thinking, but that he consciously lives his life according to reason and evidence. An example of a fortune cookie is brought up where Wally admits he might be influenced by it on some level, though he knows it can't possibly have been made in a factory somewhere with him in mind. Wally does agree with Andre that science hasn't necessarily made things ''better''.