Midnight in Paris

Ah, Paris - an inspirational city for many, and in particular Woody Allen it would seem. I went to see his new film, a hit in the recent Cannes film festival, fully expecting to love it (due to my love of Paris, not Allen). And love it I did. It was of course un petit peu previsible (predictable) but the shots of Paris were breathtaking and Owen Wilson did well as the inspired writer who loses his way and is tied down by a witch of a fiance (Rachel McAdams) and eventually refinds his mojo in the arms of the city (and her many beautiful women). The story is like I said: predictable, but oh so delicious. Against all odds Wilson finds himself in Paris in the Roaring Twenties, surrounded by the likes of Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Salvador Dali and Gertrude Stein, to name but a few. It is in short, any young writer's dream.

Although sold as a romcom, it is refreshing to see that McAdams and Wilson make an appallingly ill-suited couple and all is not well in the land of the spoilt and wealthy. Wilson's interest in other women is a factor of the film but not it's main focus - that is centred on Paris of course. Allen succeeds in many a name-dropping (Wilson's love rival teaches at the Sorbonne, they go drinking in Montmartre, Hemingway is found staring down the nose of a red wine bottle at all times) which made it fun for us as we are now well-acquainted with many of the city's hotspots. If you're reading this, go and watch the film! You will see why I'm here, and maybe even be inspired to come here yourself.

My only criticism is as follows: I've yet to walk through the streets of Paris after midnight and encounter anyone other than drunken people or bums, never mind Dali or Hemingway. Maybe I'm just not doing it right...?

Bisous xxx