Midnight
in Paris is the latest film of Woody Allen, the 6th film filmed in Europe, after
4 films in England and one in Barcelona. Woody Allen writes almost about the
same thing over and over, but in the end most films surprise us by that glimpse of geniality that he is so very capable of. It is not
only in the core of relationships and their development over problems that
entice us... is even more how life can turn out to be a real surprise. The
story of this one goes more or less like this: a bored Hollywood screenwriter decides he
will become a real writer, of books, of novels, and is interpreted by Owen
Wilson, which by the way is to be married to Rachel McAdams character, a
typical republican spoiled American whose parents have lots of money. Paris is only a place for business, maybe buying some cheap stuff, but
oh no, not mingling with the Parisians or their strange life style. Well Owen
Wilson's character, Gil, doesn’t think that, he represents the opposite, he falls to his knees for Paris and for all in it, and he wanders the city wishing to
have lived between the artists in the 20s. Well, while her fiancée is keen to
be passing time with a snobbish know-it-all American, Gil wanders and founds
himself between 2 worlds, the real and the past, and the past is helping him
figure out the present, his novel, his career, his life. He encounters
characters that he would imagine only in his dreams: Ernest Hemingway, Cole
Porter, Fitzgerald, Picasso, Dalí and so many that were present in Paris in the 20s. The
characterization of all is pretty good with some nice gags. Well, Woody Allen always
turn everything upside down...but in this one it revealed a more philosophical way,
passing a little bit the relationships theme to a more personal one. Are we
content with our époque? Don’t we wish all to live in better times? In the
past? That’s obviously part of a human thing to fear the present and the future
on the verge of not being able to perfect it more than others did...so we look
into the past and wish it to be present, forgetting all the wrongs and being
able to look just the goods. Well it’s idyllic for sure, but it’s human...It is
indeed a pity that most of the potential of people is lost wandering in the past while we
could change and build a better future.
The film is indeed worthwhile seeing,
it has Paris, good actors, good scenes, hilarious events, and most of all a
good lesson to be assimilated. I can say that he brought an almost master piece
here.
“Gil:
That's what the present is. It's a little unsatisfying because life is
unsatisfying. “
