Midnight In Paris [2011]

Director: Woody Allen

Writer: Woody Allen

Stars: Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams and Kathy Bates

‘Paul: Nostalgia is denial - denial of the painful present... the name for this denial is golden age thinking - the erroneous notion that a different time period is better than the one ones living in – it’s a flaw in the romantic imagination of those people who find it difficult to cope with the present.’

Woody Allen has his own style, his own genre of films. I haven’t seen all of his movies, but the few I did see had common details , like smart, funny lines, introspective thinking, with usual themes like love- for a person or a city. You don’t really expect from Woody Allen a lot of action or a fast pace...he likes to take things slow and relish on the important things; at least that’s what I observed.

This movie is no exception, but I loved it....and I find it a little different than most of them.  The story is about a man trying to write a novel while in Paris with his fiancée.  One night he wanders around the streets of Paris and is suddenly invited into an old, beautiful car that transports him into the 1920s, his favourite time period.

The rest is a succession of magic sets, with recognisable characters and lovely lines. If you’re not familiar, at least on a basic level, with universal literature and art, you won’t realise the importance and beauty of the people- Ernest Hemingway, Scott Fitzgerald, Pablo Picasso and others. 

Gil finally finds what he was looking for and starts a great adventure, each day waiting for midnight to come sooner so he can transport himself into the world that he loves and appreciates.  In the end he makes the right decision for him and starts living the life he was dreaming all this time.

I really liked this movie- the script was very sweet, inventive and interesting, the core subject was something that you can’t say it’s the most original thing in the world, but it represents a situation every human being wants to be in, at least once in their lives.  It’s an introspective story, it makes you reconsider some aspects of your life, but the main idea is perfectly reasonable and logic- people are never satisfied with their current situation or the time period they live in; they linger into the past, thinking they had it better. It shows you that you should appreciate and love the past, but always live in the present and make the best of it!

I highly recommend it- although if I can make a suggestion? Familiarise yourself with Paris in the 1920s, just names, places- it will help!

Did you see it? What did you like most about it?