Woody Allen's latest film set in various time periods of the dreamy and nostalgia-ridden city of Paris, allows you to stick your head up into the clouds and dream of escaping your life to wander the streets of Paris in La Belle Epoque or party with the Fitzgeralds in the 1920's.
The main character-the Woody Allen-esque Gil Pender ("Wonderful but forgettable, sounds like a film I've seen, I probably wrote it") is a Hollywood screenwriter with plans to marry a beautiful woman and live happily ever after in Malibu. Gil is a very imaginative man, a dreamer, who feels the rush of nostalgia come upon him as he soaks in the grande city of Paris at night-in the rain as he dreams of The Jazz Age. Surrounded by family and "friends" who are constantly believing that he needs to be pulled back down to Earth, Gil rids himself of the people who hold him back as he tries to find inspiration for this first novel.
There are no words for the introduction of this film, before you can be drawn in-or distracted- by the actual story of the film, you are introduced to the city of Paris. I'm going to correct myself, you don't really just have an introduction to Paris, you see Paris in all it's beauty, life, and historical glory and are given a chance to really fall in love. This sets the mood for the nostalgic dreams of The Jazz Age that Gil is constantly going on about. From a visual aspect, this is not a film that you watch, but one that you feel. Going beyond saying how technically professional the film was like "the cinematography was great" or "I loved the art direction-it was perfect", the whole experience is so aesthetically pleasing. The rule of thirds was never disobeyed, every colour complimented the next, and the music kind of skipped along hand in hand with the extraordinary beauty of the views.
If the beginning of the film was enough for you (and I'm sure it could be), just get ready for it's very essence . This is where the writing and the acting was so incredibly crucial. At Midnight, in Paris, a slightly drunk Gil is invited into a very old car where he is greeted by flappers smoking their cigarettes through filters and offering Gil more drinks. Once he enters a bar it is very evident that he has traveled back in time to Paris in the 1920's where he is bewildered but spends the entire night partying with F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald and getting advice for his novel from Ernest Hemingway! So, like I said, the acting and writing are incredibly crucial once you are dealing with historical figures; but they are extremely accurate and so is the story (watch for the dynamic between Scott and Zelda). Much of this film is based around Gil's interactions between many historical figures including Gertrude Stein, Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, and even Cole Porter on the piano; there are too many to mention but it's a wonderfully cheerful experience.
It is obvious that Gil is unhappy with his life and through his adventures through Paris in time and his relationship with Picasso's mistress, Adrianna, he learns that "the present is a little unsatisfying because life is a little unsatisfying". By the end of the film, Gil comes to the realization that even the person or the people who have what you think you want aren't satisfied with that. It's human nature to want to escape reality and try to find yourself in "The Golden Age" but it never happens.
Don't get me wrong, this movie is not in anyway depressing. In fact it's very light-hearted and surprisingly funny. It stars an array of very talented and experienced actors who do NOT let you down, especially if you're big fans of their "characters". But all in all, it's nice to accept reality and know that whether you rather you lived in the 1920's or La Belle Epoque, or the Rennaisance, you would still be dreaming of a simpler and easier time.
But for now- "how is anyone ever gonna come up with a book, or a painting, or a symphony, or a sculpture that can compete with a great city. You can't. Because you look around and every street, every boulevard, is its own special art form and when you think that in the cold, violent, meaningless universe that Paris exists, these lights, I mean come on, there's nothing happening on Jupiter or Neptune, but from way out in space you can see these lights, the cafés, people drinking and singing. For all we know, Paris is the hottest spot in the universe."
The main character-the Woody Allen-esque Gil Pender ("Wonderful but forgettable, sounds like a film I've seen, I probably wrote it") is a Hollywood screenwriter with plans to marry a beautiful woman and live happily ever after in Malibu. Gil is a very imaginative man, a dreamer, who feels the rush of nostalgia come upon him as he soaks in the grande city of Paris at night-in the rain as he dreams of The Jazz Age. Surrounded by family and "friends" who are constantly believing that he needs to be pulled back down to Earth, Gil rids himself of the people who hold him back as he tries to find inspiration for this first novel.
There are no words for the introduction of this film, before you can be drawn in-or distracted- by the actual story of the film, you are introduced to the city of Paris. I'm going to correct myself, you don't really just have an introduction to Paris, you see Paris in all it's beauty, life, and historical glory and are given a chance to really fall in love. This sets the mood for the nostalgic dreams of The Jazz Age that Gil is constantly going on about. From a visual aspect, this is not a film that you watch, but one that you feel. Going beyond saying how technically professional the film was like "the cinematography was great" or "I loved the art direction-it was perfect", the whole experience is so aesthetically pleasing. The rule of thirds was never disobeyed, every colour complimented the next, and the music kind of skipped along hand in hand with the extraordinary beauty of the views.
If the beginning of the film was enough for you (and I'm sure it could be), just get ready for it's very essence . This is where the writing and the acting was so incredibly crucial. At Midnight, in Paris, a slightly drunk Gil is invited into a very old car where he is greeted by flappers smoking their cigarettes through filters and offering Gil more drinks. Once he enters a bar it is very evident that he has traveled back in time to Paris in the 1920's where he is bewildered but spends the entire night partying with F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald and getting advice for his novel from Ernest Hemingway! So, like I said, the acting and writing are incredibly crucial once you are dealing with historical figures; but they are extremely accurate and so is the story (watch for the dynamic between Scott and Zelda). Much of this film is based around Gil's interactions between many historical figures including Gertrude Stein, Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, and even Cole Porter on the piano; there are too many to mention but it's a wonderfully cheerful experience.
It is obvious that Gil is unhappy with his life and through his adventures through Paris in time and his relationship with Picasso's mistress, Adrianna, he learns that "the present is a little unsatisfying because life is a little unsatisfying". By the end of the film, Gil comes to the realization that even the person or the people who have what you think you want aren't satisfied with that. It's human nature to want to escape reality and try to find yourself in "The Golden Age" but it never happens.
Don't get me wrong, this movie is not in anyway depressing. In fact it's very light-hearted and surprisingly funny. It stars an array of very talented and experienced actors who do NOT let you down, especially if you're big fans of their "characters". But all in all, it's nice to accept reality and know that whether you rather you lived in the 1920's or La Belle Epoque, or the Rennaisance, you would still be dreaming of a simpler and easier time.
But for now- "how is anyone ever gonna come up with a book, or a painting, or a symphony, or a sculpture that can compete with a great city. You can't. Because you look around and every street, every boulevard, is its own special art form and when you think that in the cold, violent, meaningless universe that Paris exists, these lights, I mean come on, there's nothing happening on Jupiter or Neptune, but from way out in space you can see these lights, the cafés, people drinking and singing. For all we know, Paris is the hottest spot in the universe."