MIDNIGHT IN PARIS (2011) - ENGLISH

Travelling on streets is good but travelling in time is marvelous.

I have heard of time travel in the film Shining but saw it happen one time after another in this film. Aptly titled, this film is about the mysterious life in paris that revels in nostalgia. It still has the fragrance of those great artists that adored this great city from a Picasso to Hemingway to so many.

Now there is our protagonist Gil Pender who loves the 1920's  and very fluidly travels to 1920 and makes connections with the artists. Actually, there is not much of a story, but everything pops up in between, there is an artistis desire, there is infidelity there is an envy about another man and there is love for multiple woman. But all of that said, it's a journey of an artist.

Oh, did I mention that this is a Woody Allen film, yes it is and its very Allenish. Now there can't be a movie without Allen so our hero Gil Pender (Owen Wilson) is the Allen of the film who is very subconsciously driven and speaks out long sentences that make little meaning to others (but I could make out what he meant). He dreams, and when he realizes he seems so very lost, he does not know what to do and again gets lost. He just knows, he wants to stay in Paris. His every move evokes love for the great city.

The art direction if anything is superficial and I envy every bit of it coz the hollywood for every story have superb technicians and the way they use technology is simply superb. The cinematography is simple for few scenes like a chat between the characters and terrific when it has to bring paris alive. Yes, certainly Paris is a character of the movie and right in the first few frames I realized this and in fact those first shots were the best of the movie in terms of showing paris. Did I tell there is infidelity as common theme as in an Allen movie.

All through, I can see Allen and his hope for bringing out yet another film that says Art for Art's sake and he succeeds yet again and he cannot fail coz there is a protagonist so strong in him that we can vie for and woo for. We surely want him to simply follow his dreams.

It's a charming and an enchanting film nevertheless but it's not a story that we shall for long remember I believe. It did not engage me much in terms of screenplay or characterization to say so except for the enticement caused by the camera.

Hail Allen, I give it 3/5. A good one to go for sure.