Angela Bassett, Bob Dylan, Cheech Marin

Set somewhere, sometime in an unnamed country, torn by civil war with unclear battle lines, impresario Uncle Sweetheart is scheming to find a headliner for a benefit concert. The purpose of the concer...( read more  read more... )t is unclear and the charity that the profits go to is its promoter's pockets. Nina Veronica is the veteran TV producer whose job it is to make sure that the concert is an international spectacle--yet her task is impossible to achieve. And when Uncle Sweetheart manages to get the iconic cult star Jack Fate released from prison to perform, the stage is set for tumult.

Flixster Users

49% liked it

2,664 ratings

Critics

25% liked it

77 critics

PG-13, 1 hr. 52 min.

Directed by: Larry Charles

Release Date: July 24, 2003

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DVD Release Date: February 17, 2004

Stats: 186 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (186)


  • December 7, 2007
    $5 to anyone who can tell me what the hell was the point of this film? Look I love Bob Dylan like everyone else but I had no idea what was going in this film. It's not smart, it's not creative and it's not art. It's just f*cking pointless and without purpose. Great music but see ...( read more)No Direction Home for that it's done with by a master filmmaker over Bob Dylan who just got to make the movie cause he's Bob f*cking Dylan.
  • March 16, 2007
    Bob is my hero not for his acting/movie producing skills, no, this movie sucked badly. He is my hero because he is the ultimate at writing lyrics and creating musical masterpieces. See this if you're curious about the mind of Bob but don't be surprised if you say WTF after 5 mi...( read more)nutes. I know I did and I am a huge Bob Dylan fan. Sorry Bob! The soundtrack is great, all Dylan songs, almost all covered by a variety of artists. The soundtrack was the best part of this movie!
  • February 21, 2007
    Strange, allegorical film about the state of politics in America... I think. Almost defies review.
  • December 11, 2008
    nothanks not my kinda thing
  • November 29, 2008
    What is so intriguing and interesting about this film is that it shows us some of Dylan's masks (the means by which he conceals his actual appearance) in order to examine what lies beneath them, and it also looks at his personality in order to suggest how he has protected, change...( read more)d and diffused it. It gives us a good deal of truth about Dylan, but realises that in his case the best route to the truth is 'slant'.

    Casting him in the role of 'Jack Fate' is essential to all this; it means we are pushed a step back from Dylan himself, and therefore see him more clearly. In some respects, Fate is not like Dylan at all - he is a rock star past his sell-by date, who has spent the last twenty-odd years playing in obscure honky tonks and bars and refusing to deal with the dodgy administrators of the music business. At the same time, he has qualities we recognise as Dylan's own: he shares Dylan's deepest preoccupations, and he plays his music (of course). In particular, Fate is like Dylan because he exists at the point where an amazingly creative imagination is permanently scrutinised by its audience. He wants to think of his work as a self-sufficient universe, but his is constantly - sometimes threateningly - required to interpret it, and to justify or explain its connection to surrounding events.

    At the film's savage climax, Friend attacks Uncle Sweetheart, and is in turn attacked by Fate then Cupid - who murders him. As we watch the journalist bleed to death, it's hard not to think that Fate/Dylan is getting his revenge for a lifetime of intrusion - but when Fate is falsely accused of the murder, and taken off for sentence, we realise that things are not as straightforward as that. Fate meets his fate without complaining, and in his silence seems to assent to the accusation made against him.

    On the face of it, Masked and Anonymous is a film about political corruption, the tensions between religions, and shady business deals - all subjects close to Dylan's heart. Its deeper concerns are closer still: do artists have a responsibility to interpret their work? What value does art have in a corrupt world, and what use? How can the artist protect his gift from his admirers, let alone his detractors? And then there's a third and even more personal level of interrogation. Can happiness be pursued, or must we wait for it to come to us? Are dreams an acceptable alternative to realities? Can our tangled relationships with family and loved ones ever be 'straightened out'?

    At all these depths, and in all these respects, the film is deeply engaging. It is also revelatory - in the paradoxical sense that it allows Dylan to say some important things out loud, and to keep the silences, and retain the elements of mystery, which are essential to his genius. We should ask for nothing else. And if there are people watching who still can't resist trying to rip off the mask, and shatter the anonymity - well, they should concentrate on the face we see in the film, and the music we hear. The face with its extraordinary mixture of immobility and expressiveness. The music with its exhilarating sweep and range, and its delivery in a voice which with every passing year has become more haunting in its grace, more compelling in its command.
  • November 27, 2008
    I LOVE GIOVANNI RIBISI
  • September 29, 2008
    wow i have just seen this movie 4 the 1st time n this is a brilliant movie 2 watch...this has got a good cast of actors/actressess throughout this movie...i think that bob dylan is plays a good part throughout this movie...john goodman is great as the manager...i think that the d...( read more)irector of this Art House & International, Drama, Comedy movie had done a good job of directing this movie because you never know what 2 expect throughout this movie...its really enjoyable throughout...i think that Jeff Bridges, Penélope Cruz and Jessica Lange all play good parts throughout this movie...its a good movie 2 watch
  • July 6, 2008
    Love & hate this movie. Seinfield creators getting stupid in following Bob Dylan & the people that he meets. Good movie but it kind of wonders all over, just like Seifield.
  • April 15, 2008
    Just because Bob Dylan himself is in this I might see it. Decent cast. Why not?
  • March 19, 2008
    Okay, so Bob Dylan's definitely not the greatest actor on the planet, and this movie's a bit confusing sometimes. Despite of that, I like this movie, but maybe it's just because of Bob Dylan I do so. Also, Jeff Bridges is in this movie, and he's always GREAT.

Critic Reviews


August 15, 2003
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

A vanity production beyond all reason. full review

August 8, 2003
Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail

The results are heavy-handed and oppressive in the way that vanity projects and bloated collective theatre experiments often are. full review

July 31, 2003
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

Dylan just stares in mute incomprehension. I know the feeling. full review

July 26, 2003
Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com

An exhilarating and sometimes puzzling jumble that explores the dangers of power, the nature of Americana and the Bob Dylan myth, among many, many other things. full review

July 25, 2003
Claudia Puig, USA Today

The biggest waste of talent of any movie this year. full review

July 24, 2003
A.O. Scott, The New York Times

An unholy, incoherent mess. full review

View more Masked And Anonymous reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

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