Instead of working on my 5000+ word essay that's probably overdue at this point, I went to watch Midnight in Paris, the new film by Woody Allen. In all fairness, I had to watch it for an article that I'm writing for my school paper.
My only encounters with Mr. Allen have been through Vicky Cristina Barcelona and videos of the final scene of Manhattan that my friend keeps frantically sending me with the message, "YOU REALLY SHOULD BE WATCHING THIS MOVIE NOW." (I still haven't listened to him.)
If I hadn't seen Vicky Cristina Barcelona, or even those last few shots that sweep the New York City skyline, I would have never understood what people meant when they said that Woody Allen "plays tourist." I think that's his strong suit - he shows the audience these beautiful images of cities that most of them have probably never visited. One of the memorable moments of Midnight in Paris is Gil's declaration that Paris is at its most beautiful when it rains. There's something to be said about a city that emanates its allure, even in the most sopping wet of conditions.
I've never been to Paris, though I'm seriously considering adding it as a rendezvous on my (tentative) way to Vienna next year. I think I romanticize the City of Lights too much, in a similar way to how I think New York City is everything it's cracked up to be. It probably isn't and, from what I've heard, Paris is just a city of litter and overzealous tourists.
Like Gil in Midnight in Paris, however, I'll always want to be there just like how he'll always want to be in the Roaring Twenties. People like us? We can't be helped.
Anywho, I'm out of town for the weekend - gone to visit one of my favourite places to see some of my favourite people while I die of sweat and happiness. I'm watching Tree of Life tomorrow, so I'll probably have a page-long diatribe about dinosaurs and Sean Penn's hair curl. Until then!
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