A moment of pure joy

Rating: 10/10 (22 July 2011)

I was about to write in the summary the following qualification for this magical movie: 'intellectual orgasm' but I was afraid of both words. The word 'intellectual' might scare some people away when it simply means that watching this film is a dessert for the brain and a visual orgy (Paris of today, Paris of yesterday) and the word 'orgasm' would scare the other people away because of its sexual connotation. However, the qualification refers here (once again) to the brain. We share the same astonishment as Wilson's character as he meets Legends of the Arts and we just go along the ride with an exhilarating feeling. You can feel that Allen has a deep knowledge and passion for both these luminaries and Paris and we are happy to share it with him. He also make us think about the respective values of one's fulfillment through materialism or spiritual (through literary inspiration). And that's probably why he is more popular in Europe and particularly in France than in the US...
And I have to say that Marion Cotillard is once again a treat to watch and for me she might be one day compared to the best actress in the world: Meryl Streep! In this movie, she is literally the incarnation of the City of Light.
I got out of the theater very thankful to Woody Allen for producing such an inspired and funny intellectual and visual treat.