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.