Midnight in Paris: Parlez-moi D'amour and Historical Nostalgism
Midnight in Paris was a recommendation from a stranger who reminded me of Evan. Both had a verbatim appreciation for the same idea of "pretty things" because of their "ADHD" (cannot verify on either account, hence the quotes). In Evan's words, "subtle, nuanced, curated, essence" --- alright dude, we get it you're big refined.
Coincidentally, I visited Paris with Evan this summer, so I think I was destined to watch this movie. Being back in a school whose culture many times seems to exchanges dreams with realities and ties in success with career formalities, it's particularly relevant right now.
The concepts that pop into my mind immediately: reminiscence and nostalgic escapism. As someone whose childhood dreams were built on the bedrock of historical narratives, I watched this movie with a special appreciation. I used to read history textbooks for fun (maybe still do). Romanticizing the past or getting lost in the science fiction of other worlds was my dopamine high.
{When I'm back at home-base, my natural instinct is to stay-in and consume myself with the worlds that aren't around me. It's to dig deep into a narrative of anywhere or everywhere that isn't here. When I travel, I'm an adventurer in a new world. I scour every nook, corner, and alleyway; drink coffee in every cafe; and of course, pay my respects to every library and bookstore I come across. Avoiding wyrd, in a way.}
Midnight in Paris started with scenes some of the most renown sites, most of which I visited, now from two lenses. It was a trip down memory lane; an emboldened version of my time in Paris this summer. Overall, it gives the sweet and sentimental feelings of Casa Blanca with a comedic edge of modern rom-coms. Enchanté.
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Note on Paris: The city is a timeless soliloquy. Like all great cities, it knows what it is and what it isn't and every person is humbled in its presence.
Q: Is Paris better to reminisce than to be in?
I'm not sure -- I err towards no because there is a lived grievance and love for it. The art is the architecture, not merely in buildings but in culture and appreciation too.
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Favorite lines:
Ernest: I believe that love that is true and real, creates a respite from death. All cowardice comes from not loving or not loving well, which is the same thing. And then the man who is brave and true looks death squarely in the face, like some rhino-hunters I know or Belmonte, who is truly brave... It is because they make love with sufficient passion, to push death out of their minds... until it returns, as it does, to all men... and then you must make really good love again.
Gert: The artist's job is not to succumb to despair but to find an antidote for the emptiness of existence.
Paul: Nostalgia is denial - denial of the painful present... the name for this denial is golden age thinking - the erroneous notion that a different time period is better than the one ones living in - its a flaw in the romantic imagination of those people who find it difficult to cope with the present.