Midnight in Paris

A commercial for Paris. The Paris of dreamers and incorrigible romantics; so the absolute opposite of the real Paris. But so what? Woody manages to intoxicate us with the almost melancholic atmosphere of the “city of love" so much that it gets you wanting to go there... And add to this the outstanding Owen Wilson (who gives a better performance of Woody than Woody himself), the again cute (and again in a completely different way) Marion Cotillard, all the scenes with the big names of surrealism “rhino-Buñuel-Dalí-Man Ray-rhino", the playfulness (that’s right, Allen steals from himself; and so what?) and the overall relaxed atmosphere showing that “we all had a great time" which comes across wonderfully to the viewer. Which doesn’t always necessarily happen. (27/09/2011)

Woody Allen is certainly an American, but he has always somewhat defied the idea of a typical American because he belongs to the circle of New York liberals who have always been culturally closer to Europe than to the American South or Midwest. In Europe, his intellectually-oriented work was also more embraced by audiences than in America. Woody makes fun of this in his film Hollywood Ending, where a blind director makes a film that, for understandable reasons, makes no sense, and when the American studio throws it overboard, the film receives recognition at a European film festival and also from European viewers. In the later stage of his career, Woody truly fell in love with Paris, and when he decided to leave his beloved New York, he began creating there. This film is nothing more than a tribute to Paris as a cultural center and a city with an amazing history, and the whole gimmick tries to sell the viewer as many famous figures of European culture that once passed through Paris in the 1920s. He chose this period so he could showcase his favorite musical melodies. Unfortunately, it had to happen one day - my favorite director Woody, to whom I usually give 4 stars, even in the weaker films that I forget about after a few days, managed to reliably entertain me only to the level of three stars this time. I am not surprised by Woody thematically or in the choice of actors, but somehow I didn't enjoy this panoply of characters, and in the first half, I was downright bored. The second half is a bit better, but even the few functioning jokes were not particularly original, and during Allen's overproduction, I remembered them from other films. It is a pleasant film, but I just could not get into it. Overall impression: 45%. (04/05/2014)

A very nice film. It's not perfect, and it can't match the atmosphere of The Purple Rose of Cairo, but I watched it for an hour and a half with a permanent smile, and that's to be appreciated. Woody Allen's screenplay seems to combine the magic of two of his short stories - “A Twenties Memory", in which he recounts his experiences with Hemingway, Stein, Picasso, Toklas and others, and the excellent “The Kugelmass Episode", whose protagonist starts cheating on his wife with Madame Bovary thanks to an illusionist. Midnight in Paris is an enjoyable watch that could have been more elaborate (especially when it comes to the book Gil buys and reads about himself in), but its idea about the desire to live in other times at the expense of the present and especially its ending are so beautiful that almost all the criticisms had to be put aside. (10/08/2014)

The picture has a certain vibration about it and I (it seems I alone of the watching ensemble) enjoyed listening to it. Maybe it was the magic of Paris, pulling me back into the past... I often think that I was born at the wrong moment in time... maybe I have an understanding for the indecisiveness of the main protagonist and his search for (women?) himself. Very well-cast. Wlison’s slightly dumbfounded expression is well-placed, Rachel McAdams is absolutely modern, Marion Cotillard beautifully period and the familiar faces of famous people were fine. And the final “decision"? I think I know what I would have done, but it would be a hard choice. (03/03/2012)

I would say no, I'm pretty sure this is my first Woody Allen movie. As a result I didn't know what to expect, but dug what I got and came out with a pretty satisfied and full tummy. Paris, the city I loved, the Lost Generation, and the message that drives the film – it all made for a tasty whole. Plus, Owen wasn't bad, although in some of the crappy parts I'd just rather see someone more... I don't know if "erudite" is the right word. A film full of art and thoughts of the past. Apparently there's nothing like living in the present. (26/02/2012)