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The Arts Intel Report

A Cultural Compass
For the World Traveler
A Cultural Compass
For the World Traveler

Coup de Chance

The director Woody Allen and the actor Melvil Poupaud on the set of Coup de Chance, Allen’s latest movie.

Streaming on Theaters

Yes, I am a long-standing member of Woody Allen’s unofficial fan club, the only club I’ll belong to in spite of the fact that they would have someone like me for a member. Have you gotten our last newsletter? Sadly—between the allegations that he molested his daughter Dylan and the recent run of workman-like movies—our ranks have thinned in recent decades. But I am still here, always will be. Fifty-four years after his debut feature, Take the Money and Run, I spoke with Allen about Coup de Chance, his 50th movie, in the very brownstone he shares with Soon-Yi, Mia Farrow’s estranged adopted daughter and Allen’s wife of 27 years. An erotic thriller, filmed in France—in French—with French actors, the movie has drawn comparisons to Match Point, dramatizing as it does the condition of living in a senseless, amoral universe. Its title means “Stroke of Luck,” which is also a pretty good summary of how the movie finally ended up in theaters. —Sam Wasson

Photo: Gravier Productions/Perdido Productions/Album/Alamy