Film Stills Curated by Natalie King. Selected single film stills by invited artists.
'New York Stories' is an anthology film which consists of three short films comprising of around BLAH minutes each, that are thematically linked through New York City. The first is 'Life Lessons', directed by Martin Scorsese, the second is 'Life Without Zoe', directed by Francis Ford Coppola and written by Coppola and his daughter, Sofia Coppola. The last is 'Oedipus Wrecks, directed, written by and starring Woody Allen.
As with most Woody Allen movies, the therapist's office is where all the exposition happens. New York lawyer Sheldon (Woody Allen) starts by complaining about his overbearing and overly critical mother (Mae Questel) and blatantly states how he wishes she disappears.
The issues extend from whether he is eating enough to his choice in women, specifically the divorced, single mother Lisa (Mia Farrow) who is his fiancée (bonus - one of her kids is Kristen Dunst in her first screen roll ever). After all of them go to a magic show and she is invited on stage to be part of a magician's disappearance act, she actually disappears with no explanation to be found.
Although he is terrified at first, he comes to realise that life without his mother exposing his most embarrassing moments with everyone she meets isn't too bad and that he can now finally relax. But not for long. His mother reappears in the most ridiculous and fantastical way.
He tries to see a psychic, Treva (Julie Kavner) who could help him and his mother, but soon falls in love with her - possibly since she is very similar to his mother and his repressed feelings are translated into erotic transference for his psychic, who is the key to solving his mother problem.