I had read previews about the latest Woody Allen, and they prepared me well for the film Midnight in Paris because they said something important without giving the plot. This is what I will try to do here.
What the previews said with exactitude is that Woody Allen's film may be predictable and classic, but it doesn't disappoint. He has chosen a cliche topic: Americans in Paris with the pretext to film in a city that he loves. I understood, with analogy, that the moviegoer would be like the gourmet going to a classic French restaurant to order from a predictable menu and have an excellent meal. He doesn't expect any fusional additive and neither does the audience expect anything but 100% Woody Allen.
Keeping in mind my attempt not to give out the plot, I will present the thematic and that is what people call the Golden Age and how they perceive the artists of the past with reverence.
This film, in a Woody Allen manner, makes reference to many artists of the 1920s: Picasso, Modgliani, Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Bunel, ManRay and Dali. It even makes reference to LaBelle Epoque with Degas, Toulouse Lautrec and Gauguin. Only Woody Allen can make reference to such a clique of cliche artists and make it appear funny and mesmerizing.
What the previews said with exactitude is that Woody Allen's film may be predictable and classic, but it doesn't disappoint. He has chosen a cliche topic: Americans in Paris with the pretext to film in a city that he loves. I understood, with analogy, that the moviegoer would be like the gourmet going to a classic French restaurant to order from a predictable menu and have an excellent meal. He doesn't expect any fusional additive and neither does the audience expect anything but 100% Woody Allen.
Keeping in mind my attempt not to give out the plot, I will present the thematic and that is what people call the Golden Age and how they perceive the artists of the past with reverence.
This film, in a Woody Allen manner, makes reference to many artists of the 1920s: Picasso, Modgliani, Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Bunel, ManRay and Dali. It even makes reference to LaBelle Epoque with Degas, Toulouse Lautrec and Gauguin. Only Woody Allen can make reference to such a clique of cliche artists and make it appear funny and mesmerizing.
What I want to know, even though it is obvious that NO ONE would refuse an offer to play in a Woody Allen, is how Allen builds his beautiful cast: he chooses the best medley of actors and actresses and every appearance draws a smile.
In that vein, and I don't think it is deliberate on his part, he sends the message that while all those artists and writers formed a clique in the 20s or at the Belle Epoque, we have talented actors today: just look at the cocktail of artists he brings together beautifully. It didn't take much to convince Madame Sarkozy, alias Carla Bruni, to play!
In the same vein, I thought of the current artistic movement in the Middle East, all the artists know each other, many form a tight clique and support each other and hang out together. In many ways, like the 20s in Paris. Just because it is contemporary, doesn't mean it isn't a fact!
Pas Beau.I didn't continue the posting because you let the cat out of the bag.Will return to it,when we see the movie at our leisure.
ReplyDelete