Allen "meets" Bunuel

Rating: 9/10 (10 April 2012)

Even if it seems like that, this movie is not mainly about a tribute to some artists of 1930s or the praise of the city, Paris, this movie is a criticism of the bourgeoisie, lack of communication, egocentricity and selfishness. And it is about a man who doesn't belong to that "world". Before starting my thoughts on the film, I want to say that I have no idea why a lot of people hate Owen Wilson and they say that they couldn't stand him! I like Owen Wilson! I like him and he was one of my reasons of watching this film, because I am not a Woody Allen fan and I have seen a few of his films so far. Years years ago, when Wilson played in an action movie, Behind Enemy Lines, again, people said he was awful, but it wasn't true (if you ask me) Anyway... Midnight in Paris is one of the most offbeat movies I have ever seen in a good way and surprisingly it reminded me Bunuel films like Le Charme Discret De la Bourgeoisie. I don't know Allen did it intentionally or not but what a coincidence, there is a fictional Luis Bunuel in the film! When I saw A Streetcar Named Desire, like many people, I couldn't understand that Brando was the villain until starting to think about it after the movie. This movie is not the same, but similar. Inez is "the villain" of this movie! She doesn't care about her fiancé, she doesn't give value to him, she "carries him like a bag". She is selfish, egocentric. She doesn't think about pleasing her fiancé, she makes herself happy, always! She cheats Gil, just because she wants to do, just because she wants to have an "adventure". It seems that probably, this will reflect badly on their sexual life when they get marry! She is a spoiled girl by her bourgeois family. She goes shopping with her mother (a reference to shopaholic women?) We see her and her family while doing an activity always. However in a repellent way. The bourgeoisie consists of "enjoying the life all the time, this is what the movie tries to say to us I think. Therefore, this couple is not like the couple in Before Sunrise! While Gil is talking, Inez is always busy with doing something, she doesn't "listen" him, because she doesn't care about him. Paul, a friend of Inez, is an intellectual, may be a pseudo intellectual (I've never figured out the thin line between the two), but it feels like he is a smart Aleck, this is the fact. There is a scene. Gil interprets some paintings and Paul (also Inez) get down! You know, in fight movies, in a neighborhood, there is a weak child who is always beaten by the other boys. Then, by a miracle, he meets a master, the master teaches him to fight and at the end, the child kicks their .ss! That painting scene in Midnight in Paris feels like that for me. Gil does not belong to that world, the world of Inez, the world of Inez's family, the world of bourgeois. At this point, Allen opens a door of "another world" to Gil. Salvation from that life! Even the artists in the past give Gil value, more than his fiancée! Adriana... What a woman! She is a very dominant woman, she is a woman like a woman, but she "listens" Gil, she cares about Gil, she doesn't nag at him or lecture him like a child as his fiancée does! Inez is a scolding girl, she is a shrew, Adriana is a "female". As for the characters in the past, another great success, No overacting, No cartoon-like character and No farcical moment! However, the only flaw, Allen can't conclude the past successfully, he just "leaves" it. Let's talk about the Inez's family. Her mother hates walking in the rain, because she is too self indulgent like other bourgeois people. They always want to do an activity, but always! What they don't think or care about is other people including their daughter's fiancé! When they suppose that the earrings are stolen, they suspect the maid, they despise the maid and the most important, when Gil implies he wants to break up, her reaction is "here is the door!" She doesn't cry, she doesn't try to stop him, she doesn't feel upset, because she doesn't even care about that! Then why? She doesn't want to sadden herself. Thus, Midnight in Paris succeeds in something which Titanic couldn't! And there is another girl, the third girl, she is a saleslady. Gil meets her, she likes walking in the rain (get it?) She is too imaginary to be real and at the same time may be she is too real to be a dream. She is not like Inez as she is not like Adriana. At the end, her and Gil go for a walk. Even if this is a very cliché final, the message behind it is worth saying!