Minuit à Paris

Woody Allen's love affair with France, which goes back decades, finds its finality with "Midnight in Paris," the latest of Allen's Parisian brochures, which recently opened at the Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday. The good news is that Allen seems to be paying attention in a way he hasn't always done in recent films, and has found a way to channel his often-caustic misanthropy, half-comic fear of death and anti-American bitterness into agreeable comic whimsy. The nominal point of "Midnight in Paris" is that we've all got to make the best of life in our own time while longing for a past that probably never existed. If anything, Allen seems to be rebuking himself, ever so mildly, for his compulsive romanticism, his obsession with the past and his disconnection from contemporary American life. Allen has baked us a sweet, airy Parisian dessert with just a sense of sentimental substance in the finish. One of his better films in his latter years.

I was, until half an hour ago, struggling with life, I graduated from my university last year and I haven't coped with this new life style, I kept feeling nostalgic and depressed and wishing to go back to the past because I liked it there, it really affected my life badly. Thia movie helped in a way I could never explain to you, helped me see things in a clearer way and more importantly helped me move on, I'm forever grateful to Owen Wilson and Woody Allen, thank you very much.

Quite a lot of great lines carrying life's wisdom; Profound reflection and insight of living the precious present expressed in a light-hearted touch! If you have your own 'Golden Age' fantasy, you will likely enjoy it. This movie seems to be relatively more straightforward in communicating its message than some of Allen's other works, such as "You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger." As a plus, lovely cinematography of the city of Paris - Mr. Allen has apparently fallen in love with the 'good old (and charming)' European major cities; e.g., London, Paris, Barcelona and etc. Very likely, you will leave the movie theater with a big and warm smile on your face...

Woody Allen has done an excellent job in Midnight in Paris (MIP).

There are a lot of special features about this movie. The dialogue (script), the acting, the score, the cinematography.

Midnight in Paris provides a lot entertainment without essentially "going anywhere." It isn't an extraordinary story. It doesn't provide some deep meaningful message. It's merely a bunch of interesting dialogue mixed with outstanding acting put together to provide good entertainment.

The kind of entertainment I speak of in MIP isn't the ordinary type of "entertainment." It's a rare kind of entertainment and can only be found in certain movies. Pulp Fiction is the other prime example that springs to mind. Although very different in genre and script, there was one broad striking similarity I noticed between the two movies. They both have no purpose, no story (or at least, the "story" is used as a scapegoat to present the desired script in the movie), there basically isn't any real "reason" to see the movie. It's just about nothing. But what both movies succeed to do is just make you watch the movie, immerse yourself in it, provide you with a different kind of "comedy." It isn't comedy that makes you laugh out loud (for the most part) and it isn't failed comedy. It's the kind of comedy where you simply get subtle enjoyment from, you let out an occasional smirk or smile, but the smirk isn't necessarily in relation to the a specific comment in the movie, rather it's a smirk signifying your quiet enjoyment towards the film generally. You can sit there continuously for hours and days following repeated viewings of the film and not get bored simply because its so enjoying to watch. That's the kind of entrainment MIP offers and for the very same reason, it will attract negative attention from certain viewers, but not from me.

Next, the cinematography. Oh my gosh! I could have given this movie a 10 without the rest of the movie being so good. I, having visited Paris, for unfortunately not too long a period, fell in love with the city. It is the most romantic and beautiful city I have ever seen. It really is the city of love and all expectations were not only as good, but better. I hold this thought even though some friends I know of have had, well, not as great an experience as myself.

Woody manages to capture the beautiful presence of Paris like no other director. I felt like I was back in Paris and it sometimes managed to put a chill down my spine because of the amount of beauty I was both witnessing and remembering. I really can't say anymore about the cinematography except that it is the best, it is flawless, it is exceptional and if you have ever been to Paris and loved it, you'll definitely love this movie.

Moving onto the acting, I'll settle this briefly. Although MIP has a lot of very solid small roles (Rachel McAdams was very average, but I think that's how her character was intended to be), Owen Wilson is the complete stand out. Although I can't quote statistics, I think this may be the first movie Owen Wilson has been in which has scored and 8+ on IMDb. To put this bluntly, I'm not an Owen Wilson fan. I generally don't like his comedy. But in MIP I have never met any other actor who fits the lead role so perfectly. To put it metaphorically, Owen fits into MIP like a glove. I have never seen such an flawless representation of Woody Allen himself. Owen is Woody. And therein lies the perfection of his acting. He barely needs to act, because I know all he's doing is being himself and dishing out lines given to him, but it fits so perfect with a Woody image. All in all, MIP is Woody Allen movie, with a Woody Allen touch, a Woody Allen script, a Woody Allen cinematography and a Woody Allen leading actor.

Unfortunately, I can't express a very specific audience to which I would recommend this movie to. If you have been to Paris and loved it, chances are you will love it. It captures the beauty, the fashion, the culture and personality of Paris like it really is Paris. However, like I stated before, the dialogue in this movie and the "story" and "purpose" is something which will attract mixed feelings. I, for one, absolutely loved it. All I can say is that, if you agree with my comments above or if they touch an emotional nerve, then the chances of this movie doing the same to you is very high.

It is nothing too special. It doesn't provide a great message. It doesn't have a extraordinary story. But it provides for a rare kind of entertainment, coupled with exceptional cinematography and for these reasons, I cannot give any less than a 10.

I'd been meaning to watch Midnight in Paris for ages but, I have to confess, I was put off by the presence of Owen Wilson, who I could not really envisage as the lead in a Woody Allen film. He was actually surprisingly good though and did a decent job as the vessel from which Allen's brilliant dialogue could be heard. However, this is not an actor-driven film or even a story-driven film; its beauty lies in the simple but clever script and the easy-going laid-back style that you'd expect from a Woody Allen film all about nostalgia.

To be fair, I can completely understand why there have been so many negative reviews of Midnight in Paris. There isn't a great deal going on superficially and the characters are all gloriously stereotypical. This doesn't matter though because, although the film is quite simple, it is at the same time wonderfully clever and thought-provoking. However, you do probably have to be in the right mood to watch it. I saw this film on a lazy Saturday afternoon and wasn't expecting too much, so when I was left both entertained and thinking about the past, the present and the future, it was a pleasant surprise. There are few films these days that still have you thinking about them several days later – this is definitely one of them. What do you want from life, with whom do you want to experience it, and why are we always so dissatisfied with where we are and what we've got? Like I say, quite thought-provoking!

It's incredibly ironic that some critics go on about how Woody Allen films aren't anywhere near as good as they were back in the seventies and that he's a has-been pseudo-intellectual, when here he is making a film about nostalgia and poking fun at pseudo-intellectuals in both an obvious and also a more subtle manner. Midnight in Paris is full of self-parody and interesting contradictions, but not everything is immediately apparent and I believe that some viewers of the film may have simply taken it at face value and consequently been left thinking "is that it then?".

On a slightly more negative side, I am perplexed that some people have praised the cinematography and the wonderful images of Paris in the light, in the dark and in the rain. To me, the use of colour and imagery are not too impressive and I would argue that Paris has looked far better in plenty of other films. The music can be a little annoying too – especially in the opening sequence, which seems to go on for ever!

As I said before though, Midnight in Paris is primarily about the dialogue and the interesting ideas that it throws out to the audience. Catch them if you like, and run with them. It's a great easy-going relaxing film that'll hopefully leave you both entertained and thought- provoked.

8/10