Midnight in Paris- Time travel in the City of Light

Midnight in Paris by Woody Allen (poster inspired by The Starry Night by Van Gogh)

I am still jet-lagged from a whirlwind trip to Paris and Amsterdam with my husband (The Squire) and our two teen boys. "Wow" is about all I can say. Although impressed with both cities, my thoughts keep returning to Paris. I watched Midnight in Paris twice earlier in the summer in anticipation of my first trip to Paris. Loved it both times and now I feel like watching it again to feel that Parisian glow again...

Owen Wilson and Marion Cotillard in Midnight in Paris

I adored this film, although I am not normally a Woody Allen fan. Apparently I now have to see Purple Rose of Cairo as well however, as it seems to be the absolute fave of the die hard Allen fans. Midnight in Paris has nostalgia (for better or worse), time travel and an absolute feast for the senses. The music, the scenery...well I don't want to build it up too much, just go and enjoy.

Rachael McAdams as the slightly obnoxious American fiancee of Owen Wilson

Owen Wilson plays a successful but insecure Hollywood screenplay writer (aka the Woody Allen type) who accompanies his  fiancée and her family to Paris and becomes painfully aware of the differences in their interests and goals after some magical midnight walks.

Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald from one of the "Midnight in Paris" journeys back to the 1920s

This film will make you want to bone up on your history of art/literature/music of the 1920s (and of the Belle Époque) after Woody Allen crams in as many allusions to the past as he can manage in one film.

The Pont Alexandre III in the rain

Even rain in Paris is glorified as seen above in the final scene on the gorgeous Pont Alexandre III. We had a spot of rain in this area of Paris followed by a double rainbow over the Seine, so I cannot argue with the magic there! We were also befriended by a lovely 75 year old Parisian a few days later and invited to his apartment for wine, cheese, seafood and conversation so truly, anything can happen in Paris. Sigh.......

The Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh (found at MOMA in NYC-not in Paris)

P.S. Thanks to my Big Sister for the great guest post while I was away. Merci bien!

P.P.S. Kudos to Michael Sheen as a hilarious pseudo-intellectual and to Adrian Brody and Kathy Bates for their very entertaining Salvador Dalí and Gertrude Stein. 



Here are a few other films with a French influence which you might enjoy...