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Midnight in Paris (2011)

While watching the film, I imagined myself eating a bunch of colorful macaroons. Midnight in Paris is one delicious eye candy both as a film and as a story. The opening sequence alone establishes old Paris romance: a city so filled with beauty, art, and culture. I'm a big francophile so there goes the bias.

Woody Allen conquers the city of light with a surrealist tale that revisits the 1920s literary scene of Paris. Gil Pender (Owen Wilson) and his fiance Inez (Rachel McAdams) are on vacation along with her wealthy, right-wing parents. Gil and Inez couldn't be more different from each other. While Gil takes pleasure from walking the streets of Paris, Inez, on the other hand, prefers luxurious endeavors and other upscale tourist activities. The pair is joined by another couple who are as obnoxious as Inez. One evening, Gil separates himself from the pack by taking a walk home until he got lost in the streets. He sees an odd-looking car stop in front of him. The people inside the car invites Gil to join them, and the succeeding events take him to a nostalgic adventure of Paris in the roaring 20s.

As a Literature student, I was laughing with excitement all throughout the film. Gil encounters famous modernist writers and surrealist artists such as the Fitzgeralds, Gertrude Stein, Ernest Hemmingway, Pablo Picasso, and Salvador Dali. I can't help but imagine how Woody Allen must have enjoyed writing the script from the hyper Zelda to the poetic Hemmingway. I enjoyed every minute of Gil's fascination to the point that I forgot to care how this could have happened. In the end, the fantasy stood for itself and it didn't matter why or how it happened. I was delighted to watch a film about Paris and the crazy world of artists.

I admire Woody Allen's postmodernism and how he creatively explored the notion of nostalgia. I am eternally interested how modern society is so enamored by the past, how we remember a time in the past with so much longing, and how we wish to be living in the past again. Gil Pender embodies nostalgia but alas so are the people he encountered. It doesn't matter what era it is, people are always longing for something other than the present. If this was my story, I'd probably be revisiting the swinging 60s.

The only thing I wasn't particularly pleased was Owen Wilson's acting. I knew right from the get-go that he's supposed to be the Woody Allen character (because there is always one in Allen's films). I just found it bizarre and bothersome how he sounded 110% like Woody. I couldn't help but think it was a dubbed version. Other than that, Midnight in Paris is quite a dreamy film. 

If you're up for a tour, a fantasy, and some light dose of inspiration; this is definitely your kind of movie.

5 out of 5

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Bill Cunningham New York (2010)


"When you think the night has seen your mind 
That inside you're twisted and unkind 
Let me stand to show that you are blind 
Please put down your hands 
'Cause I see you"
(I'll Be Your Mirror by The Velvet Underground)

This song by the Velvet Underground fits Bill Cunningham's story to a tee. This movie and this song are probably two of the best I've seen and heard lately.

I love this film. It can't get any direct than that. It's happy, inspiring, and a bit sad all at the same time. Here's a man who has dedicated his life to his craft: street style photography or style documentation. Bill Cunningham is quite an enigma, I would say, as people knew so little about him other than his stunning body of work. He lives like a monk - solitary and incredibly passionate about his work. He doesn't care at all about money, attends soirees to photograph society people but refuses to dine and wine. In the film he mentions how freedom and liberty are much more important than money, especially in the art world. Bill Cunningham is truly an artist in every sense of the word. It's not everyday that we catch a glimpse of people like him.

Towards the end of the documentary, the filmmakers sat Bill down and asked him direct questions about his relationships and religion. It was tastefully done in a sense that they prefaced each question with an option for Bill not to answer if he wasn't that comfortable. Right from the beginning, the filmmakers established Bill was a very private person. So this raw interview scene all made sense. 

The interviewer asked if he ever fell in love in the past? He burst into a hearty laugh. He knew what was coming, and so he told them if they wanted to know he was gay. It was a long-winded answer. All I got was that he was too busy with his work to think about having relationships. The next question dealt with regrets and religion. To this Bill paused and looked down almost in tears - I wanted to hug him after that. Seems like he never fully actualized himself as a homosexual because of his upbringing and his devout Catholic faith. And I'm not saying that's a bad thing. I just feel like this man deserves way more than that. He is a very inspiring person. But I can understand - or I think I can - why he lives the way he does. I've known people like him and, more often than not, they become real artisans just like Bill.

The pace of the film was life-like. They followed Bill through his daily meanderings in New York shooting people on the streets for New York Times' Style Section, and snapping people at high-end New York parties for Evening Hours section. For the longest time, he lives in Carnegie Hall which was once home to the city's best artists - some of them were interviewed in the film. He doesn't own a kitchen instead his place was full of file cabinets and fashion books all crammed in his little apartment. He's like a character out of Thoreau's Walden. 

Bill Cunningham is not so much a professional photographer but a chronicler of what style and fashion is all about as we see it on the streets. He is extremely knowledgeable about fashion and his photographs often predict what is going to be the next upcoming trend. I love how he wants the streets to talk to him instead of shooting a predetermined set of what style should be. I like how he still remembers the past references of today's fashion shows. He loves people with character - especially women. He doesn't care about celebrities or trends. It's more of documenting the people and culture of New York. Bill Cunningham believes that dressing-up is a kind of armor for the real world. Though ironically, Bill himself dresses-up for function rather than fashion. But this does not affect the philosophy he espouses when it comes to style documentation. In his words, the world would be a big drab if people all dressed the same way.

I highly recommend this film for Bill's inspiring character alone. Even if you are not into fashion, you'll definitely get a lot of insight from a man whose eye, passion, and philosophy stands out like no other. 

5 out of 5 rating

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introduction of some sorts

I'm Aika, and my hobby is starting new blogs. All I want to do is read books, watch films, eat at fancy restaurants, and travel the world. I also want to write non-fiction and look fabulous while I do it. I have a soft spot for all things beautiful. My ultimate dream is to live in a charming apartment in Paris, fall in love, and do the things I love to do. This blog is meant to document my thoughts on books, films, and everything in between.

Off the top of my head, here's my book and movie list.

Read:
Paris: The Collected Traveler by Barrie Kerper
Kate Moss: An Unauthorized Biography by Laura Collins
Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
The Classic Ten by Nancy MacDonell Smith
Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichl
What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit by Jeannette Winterson

Watch:
Midnight in Paris 
A Single Man
Bill Cunningham New York
Casablanca
The Manchurian Candidate
Intolerable Cruelty
Mulholland Drive
The Usual Suspects