The golden era is now!

Midnight in Paris 2011

40 over years after Shammi Kapoor gyrated to the world through his signature dance moves in 'Evening in Paris', Woody Allen's handiwork of 'Midnight in Paris' made it to the Oscars.

'Midnight in Paris' is a typical Woody Allen movie with a rather timid male character trying make sense of life and is bullied upon to do things, like getting married, where to stay after marriage and take ridicules from the soon to be in-laws. Owen Wilson (Gil Pender), a dreamy screenwriter who is trying to write a novel and is hoping to hit it big. He is in Paris to gain inspiration for his writing just like the great writers did in the 20s. Writers always felt that Paris on the 20s was the place to be to churn out the creativity charms of a person. He secretly wished that he was living in that era.

His fiancé meets up with a friend (a Mr Know-It-All) and his partner but Gil feels out of place as he is belittled more than once. Whilst walking back to his hotel, he gets lost. After the stroke of midnight, he is picked up by a group of reveling party goers in an old Peugeot. He is transported back in time to a time he loves to be- Paris in the 1920s! And he meets up with great writers like Ernest Hemingway, Scott Fitzgerald, Salvador Dali, poet T.S. Elliot, painters Pablo Picasso and Matisse. Gil yo-yos from the past to the future as and when he felt like it by waiting at a designated point at midnight. He even gets his manuscript to be read by a great writer.

He hooks up with Adriana, Picasso's girlfriend who is a kind of confused girl with confusedly promiscuous people around her. We really get to appreciate many of the songs of the 20s like "Let's Do It, Let's Fall in Love" by Cole Porter which sounds freshly cheeky!
During their last outing, Gil and Adriana discover that they had moved to the 1890s where they meet other artists who worship the time before their time, the Renaissance, just as much as Adriana adores artists before her time! Now our hero realises that he should be happy with the present and do the best with what he has.
He stays back in Paris (at present time), breaks up with his fiancé and find common things with a French girl named Gabrielle who enjoys same things like he does like walking in the Parisian rain.......

It is a typical Woody Allen movie with Woody Allen type of a hero in Owen Wilson. I simply had that deja vu feeling that the story was predictable - Man about to be married, rediscovers himself, uncertain whether he should take the plunge but turns cold feet, makes his stand and everybody is happy! Too many times.....

Comments

Gory historic details or gore fest?

Razakar: The Silent Genocide Of Hyderabad (Telegu, 2024) Director: Yata Satyanarayana In her last major speech before her disposition, Sheikh Hasina accused those who opposed her rule in Bangladesh of being Razakars. The opposition took offence to this term and soon widespread mob throughout the land. Of course, it is not that that single incident brought down an elected government but a culmination of joblessness and unjust reservations for a select population group. In the Bengali psyche, Razakar is a pejorative term meaning traitor or Judas. It was first used during the 1971 Pakistan Civil War. The paramilitary group who were against the then-East Pakistani leader, Majibur Rehman, were pro-West Pakistan. After establishing independence in Bangladesh, Razakars were disbanded, and many ran off to Pakistan. Around the time of Indian independence, turmoil brewed in the princely state of Hyderabad, which had been a province deputed by the Mughals from 1794. The rule of N...

The products of a romantic star of the yesteryear!

Now you see all the children of Gemini Ganesan (of four wives, at least) posing gleefully for the camera after coming from different corners of the world to see the ailing father on his deathbed. They seem to found peace with the contributor of their half of their 46 chromosomes. Sure, growing up must have been hell seeing their respective mothers shedding tears, indulgence in unhealthy activities with one of them falling prey to the curse of the black dog, hating the sight of each step sibling, their respective heartaches all because of the evil done by one man who could not put his raging testesterones under check! Perhaps,the flashing lights and his dizzying heights that his career took clouded his judgement. After all, he was only human... Gems of Gemini Ganesan L-R: Dr Revathi Swaminathan, Narayani Ganesan, Dr Kamala Selvaraj, Rekha, Vijaya Chamundeswari and Dr Jaya Shreedhar. ( Abs: Radha Usman Syed, Sathish Kumaar Ganesan) Seeing six of Ge...

Chicken's Invite? (Ajak-ajak ayam)

In the Malay lingo, the phrase 'ajak-ajak ayam' refers to an insincere invitation. Of course, many of us invite for courtesy's sake, but then the invitee may think that the invitation is for real! How does anyone know? Inviters and invitees must be smart enough to take the cue that one party may have gatecrashed with ulterior motives, or the other may not want him to join in the first place! Easily twenty years ago, my family was invited to a toddler's birthday party. As my children were toddlers, too, we were requested to come early so that my kids could run around and play in their big compound. And that the host said she would arrange a series of games for them to enjoy. So there we were in the early evening at a house that resembled very little of one immersed in joy and celebration. Instead, we were greeted by a house devoid of activities and no guests. The host was still out shopping her last-minute list, and her helper was knee-deep in her preparations to ...

RIFLE RANGE BOY

Search This Blog