Midnight in Paris: Fantasy and Nostalgia


Is there a place where you can find Ernest Hemingway, Scott Fitzgerald and Gertrude Stein all together? Obviously not since they are all dead, but if there were one that place would be, and was in fact, Paris. Of course, only if you have some knowledge of American Literature you know we are talking about some of the greatest writers ever. To have the opportunity of meeting them would be any aspiring writer’s dream, and that is what happens to Gil Pender (Owen Wilson) who is visiting Paris with his fiancée and her parents. Gil’s life is at a crossroads and he is unsure about what to do. He wants to pursue his career as a writer and at the same time he wants to marry his beautiful fiancée who simply does not share his interests. One night a confused Gil gets lost and tired and in despair he just sits down on a sidewalk when suddenly a classic car stops by and some people from inside invites him to get in. An even more confused Gil mechanically accepts and magically he gets transported to the Paris of the 1920s where and when he meets the writers who inspired him, the painters who impressed him and the love of his life and the same happens the night after that and the one after that one and so on. Above all, Gil discovers that he has a future as a writer after all, and that his life lies in Paris, a magical city existing beyond the superficial Paris, a place full of nostalgia, romance, good will and culture. Paris is in essence another character in this wonderful fantasy picture directed by the always amazing Woody Allen. 
Out of five stars this film is one of those that easily gets six.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What are LAS TRES MARÍAS called in English?

Image
(Left to right:  Alnitak ,  Alnilam  and  Mintaka )  The TRES MARIAS is this group of three bright stars that are apparently at the same distance from one another though in reality none is at the same distance. They are called like that in most of Latin America and apparently they are called the THREE KINGS (the Magi) in the Philippine Islands. The TRES MARIAS after whom those stars are named are Mary, mother of Jesus; Mary Magdalene and Mary, the wife of Clopas (probably a relative of Jesus's). To find them in the sky means you are also looking at the constellation of Orion (the Warrior), to be more precise, its belt because that is precisely what the TRES MARIAS are called in English: Orion's Belt.
Read more

The Maps of Ship-Trap Island

Image
Once I had my high school students read The Most Dangerous Game, a short story by Richard Connell. Rainsford, the main character, is a professional hunter traveling by ship to his next hunting area, accidentally ends up in an island called Ship- Trap island. When he goes into the island he finds there are two men living in a palace in the island. One of them is a Cossack general and the other, his brutish servant.  The Cossack is called general Zaroff who is also  a game hunter but has become bored of hunting regular game and now uses the island's unique position to capture sailors from shipwrecks. He lets them go first and next after some time he hunts them down. Rainford's arrival who is worldwide famous presents Zaroff with a rare opportunity to find excitement in hunting again by hunting another hunter. Little does Zaroff know that Rainsford is The Most Dangerous Game in the World and hunting him will not be easy at all. My students enjoyed themselves at reading
Read more

How do you say NACIMIENTO NAVIDEÑO in English?

Image
"Oh no! Not another power blackout!"             NACIMIENTO NAVIDEÑO or PESEBRE NAVIDEÑO is a tradition which consists in recreating the moment of Jesus Christ's birth with small figures representing Joseph, Mary, the shepherds and the Wise Kings. Baby Jesus is set on December 25th of course, while the other figures are placed before, usually at the beginning of December.       The translation is NATIVITY SCENE, though some people only say CHRISTMAS SCENE. This last term is a bit broad -- even an image of Santa Claus riding his sleigh falls under that description. Saying CHRISTMAS NATIVITY SCENE would be perhaps more appropriate.                                                                                        Merry Christmas!     
Read more