Midnight in Paris (2011)

Director:

Woody Allen

Writer:

Woody Allen (written by)

Release Date:

10 June 2011 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Fantasy | Romance

Plot:

While on a trip to Paris with his fiancé's family, a nostalgic screenwriter finds himself mysteriously going back to the 1920s every day at midnight.

Plot Keywords:

Midnight | 1920s | Writer | Love | Golden Age

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 18 wins & 52 nominations

Cast

Owen Wilson	...	Gil
Rachel McAdams	...	Inez
Kurt Fuller	...	John
Mimi Kennedy	...	Helen
Michael Sheen	...	Paul
Nina Arianda	...	Carol
Carla Bruni	...	Museum Guide
Maurice Sonnenberg	...	Man at Wine Tasting
Thierry Hancisse	...	1920's Partygoer
Guillaume Gouix	...	1920's Partygoer
Audrey Fleurot	...	1920's Partygoer
Marie-Sohna Conde	...	1920's Partygoer (as Marie-Sohne Condé)
Yves Heck	...	Cole Porter
Alison Pill	...	Zelda Fitzgerald
Corey Stoll	...	Ernest Hemingway
Tom Hiddleston	...	F. Scott Fitzgerald
Sonia Rolland	...	Joséphine Baker
Daniel Lundh	...	Juan Belmonte
Laurent Spielvogel	...	Antiques Dealer
Thérèse Bourou-Rubinsztein	...	Alice B. Toklas
Kathy Bates	...	Gertrude Stein
Marcial Di Fonzo Bo	...	Pablo Picasso
Marion Cotillard	...	Adriana
Léa Seydoux	...	Gabrielle
Emmanuelle Uzan	...	Djuna Barnes
Adrien Brody	...	Salvador Dalí
Tom Cordier	...	Man Ray
Adrien de Van	...	Luis Buñuel
Serge Bagdassarian	...	Détective Duluc
Gad Elmaleh	...	Détective Tisserant
David Lowe	...	T.S. Eliot
Yves-Antoine Spoto	...	Henri Matisse
Laurent Claret	...	Leo Stein
Sava Lolov	...	Belle Époque Couple
Karine Vanasse	...	Belle Époque Couple
Catherine Benguigui	...	Maxim's Hostess
Vincent Menjou Cortes	...	Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
Olivier Rabourdin	...	Paul Gauguin
François Rostain	...	Edgar Degas
Marianne Basler	...	Versailles Royalty
Michel Vuillermoz	...	Versailles Royalty
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Michael Bennett	...	Restaurant Patron (uncredited)
Kenneth Edelson	...	Guest at Maxims (uncredited)

Directed by
Woody Allen

Writing credits
Woody Allen		(written by)

Produced by
Letty Aronson	....	producer
Raphaël Benoliel	....	co-producer
Javier Méndez	....	executive producer
Helen Robin	....	co-producer
Jack Rollins	....	co-executive producer
Jaume Roures	....	producer
Stephen Tenenbaum	....	producer

Cinematography by
Darius Khondji		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Alisa Lepselter

Casting by
Stéphane Foenkinos
Patricia Kerrigan DiCerto
Juliet Taylor

Production Design by
Anne Seibel

Art Direction by
Jean-Yves Rabier

Set Decoration by
Hélène Dubreuil

Costume Design by
Sonia Grande

Makeup Department
Veronique Bosle	....	hair stylist (as Véronique Boslé)
Avril Carpentier	....	additional makeup artist
Catherine Jabes	....	hair supervisor (as Cathy Vidal-Jabes)
Natasha Ladek	....	wig maker: Kathy Bates
Catherine Leblanc	....	hair stylist
Thi Thanh Tu Nguyen	....	makeup supervisor
Patricia Planche	....	makeup artist
Lydia Pujols	....	makeup artist
Aurélie Rameau	....	additional make up artist
Alice Robert	....	additional makeup artist
Jean-Christophe Roger	....	additional makeup artist
Olivier Seyfrid	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Helen Robin	....	unit production manager
Matthieu Rubin	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Franck Allera	....	trainee assistant director
Mallorie Ballestra-Duquesnoy	....	assistant director
Delphine Bertrand	....	second assistant director
Baptiste Caux	....	trainee assistant director
Aurore Coppa	....	third assistant director
Raphael Holt	....	school trainee assistant director (as Raphaël Holt)
Robert Karn	....	assistant director
Gil Kenny	....	first assistant director
Geoffroy Koeberle	....	dga trainee
Guilhem Malgoire	....	additional assistant director
Arnaud Rivaille	....	crowd assistant director

Art Department
Samudrika Arora	....	art department assistant
Didier Bautz	....	plasterer
Benoit Bechet	....	assistant art director (as Benoît Béchet)
Thomas Beele-Chanvril	....	swing gang
Lilith Bekmezian	....	illustrator
Stéphane Blanc	....	painter
Tatiana Bouchain	....	art department coordinator
Nicolas Brechat	....	swing gang (as Nicolas Bréchat)
Philippe Béhar	....	stand-by carpenter
Jeremy Chapelet	....	head carpenter (as Jérémie Chapelet)
Bernard Chedin	....	prop buyer (as Bernard Chédin)
William Clément	....	construction buyer
Olivier Crespin	....	stand-by props
Francine Crolbois	....	upholsterer
Liliane De Vos Conil	....	head painter (as Liliane Conil De Vos)
Christophe De Vos	....	construction grip
Séverine Depye	....	upholsterer
Pierre Maxime Duval	....	standby props assistant (as Pierre-Maxime Duval)
Patrice Fasola	....	painter
Acacio Francisco	....	painter
Tina Gardinier	....	art department trainee
Gilles Geraud	....	dressing props (as Gilles Géraud)
Dominique Gréau	....	swing gang
Alain Guenier	....	construction grip
Peter Hammond	....	standby painter
Madjid Hamzaoui	....	head carpenter (as Madjid Hamaoui)
Georges Kafian	....	graphic artist
Jacques Kazandian	....	upholsterer
Bertrand Laval	....	construction grip
Thomas Lemierre	....	swing gang
Tanty Lokonga	....	swing gang
Christophe Lunay	....	construction grip
Jérôme Magne	....	carpenter
Jean Miel	....	dressing props
Hadjila Nezlioui	....	assistant set decorator
Hadjila Nezlioui	....	storeman
Antonio Nogueira	....	swing gang
Hervé Pesquer	....	construction grip
Francois Poublan	....	standby props assistant (as François Poublan)
Benoît Tetelin	....	props buyer
Patrick Tombette	....	head construction grip
Patrick Veron	....	construction manager (as Patrick Véron)
Aneymone Wilhelm	....	set decoration assistant (as Aneymone Wylhem)
Leo Zandvliet	....	props
Uriel Zylberman	....	stand-by props trainee

Sound Department
Jean-Marie Blondel	....	sound mixer
Rachel Chancey	....	foley editor
Ryan Collison	....	foley engineer
Lee Dichter	....	sound re-recording mixer
Matthew Haasch	....	foley supervisor (as Matt Haasch)
Robert Hein	....	supervising sound editor
Thomas Kodros	....	dolby sound consultant
Sylvia Menno	....	dialogue editor
Frédéric Pardon	....	boom operator
Theotime Pardon	....	second boom/cableperson (as Théotime Pardon)
Glenfield Payne	....	sound effects editor
Jay Peck	....	foley artist
David Wahnon	....	sound editor

Special Effects by
Georges Demétrau	....	special effects supervisor
Pascal Fauvelle	....	special effects technician
Jérome Miel	....	special effects technician
Charles-Axel Vollard	....	special effects technician

Visual Effects by
Ryan Duffy	....	scanning: deluxe New York
Markus Janner	....	digital scanning and recording
Marika D. Litz	....	digital restoration artist (as Marika Litz)
Chris MacKenzie	....	digital opticals

Camera and Electrical Department
Julien Andreetti	....	clapper loader
Roger Arpajou	....	still photographer
Sidney Baucheron	....	electrician
Thierry Baucheron	....	gaffer
Johanne Debas	....	second unit director of photography
Xavier Dolléans	....	balloon light technician
Jean-Christophe Duwez	....	best boy electric
Garance Garnier	....	camera trainee
Stéphane Germain	....	grip: second unit
Thibaut Guenois	....	grip
Arnaud Imbert	....	grip
Cyril Kuhnholtz	....	key grip
Nathalie Lao	....	clapper loader
Alexandre Levi	....	electrician
Laurent Martin	....	additional grip
Christian Martinello	....	grip
Julien Moine	....	grip trainee
Eric Monin	....	electrician
Fabienne Octobre	....	first assistant camera
Benoît Pain	....	focus puller: second unit
Robert Polonia	....	generator operator
Benjamin Prevost	....	electrician (as Benjamin Prévost)
Jan Rubens	....	camera operator
Jan Rubens	....	steadicam operator/camera operator
Ani Simon-Kennedy	....	camera trainee (as Ani Simon Kennedy)
Mohan Valmy	....	electrician

Casting Department
Anaïs Barrat	....	casting trainee
Elodie Demey	....	casting assistant
Samia Fadli	....	crowd casting
Frederique Charlotte Veret	....	assistant crowd casting (as Frédérique Charlotte Véret)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Magali Bonnot	....	alterations
Jérôme Brousseau	....	crowd dresser
Claire Chanat	....	costume supervisor
Dominique Cristina	....	costume buyer
Virginie de Kinkelin	....	costume buyer
Céline Frécon	....	alterations
Elsa Le Guichard	....	crowd dresser
Françoise Le Tellec	....	principals' dresser
Emily Martin	....	principals' dresser
Jean Marc Mirete	....	head of sewing room (as Jean-Marc Mirete)
Julian Moeglin	....	crowd dresser
Aurore Pageot	....	principals' dresser
Pascal Pecastaing	....	costume assistant
Eleonora Pelletier	....	crowd dresser (as Elenore Pelletier)
Guillaume Puthod	....	costume assistant
Solange Saban	....	assistant costume designer

Editorial Department
François Aubé	....	project manager: LTC
Matt Breitenbach	....	hd deliverables
Xavier Desjours	....	dailies color grader
Christian Dutac	....	photochemical grader: Quinta Industris
Joe Gawler	....	digital intermediate colorist: Deluxe New York (as Joseph Gawler)
Kate Rose Itzkowitz	....	assistant editor
Tim Mullen	....	digital intermediate engineer
Fabien Napoli	....	dailies color grader
Morgan Neville	....	first assistant editor
Jonathan Sanden	....	digital intermediate editor
Grégory Sapojnikoff	....	scanlab operating manager
Darrell R. Smith	....	digital intermediate supervising producer
Harry Muller	....	color timer (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Nathalie Anselme	....	transportation coordinator
Jalal Aqdim	....	picture vehicles assistant
Claire Augé	....	unit driver
Philippe Bénard	....	unit driver (as Philippe Benard)
Alexandre Gautier	....	unit driver
Cyril Guillaumin	....	unit driver
Charles Heidet	....	picture vehicles supervisor
Nicolas Jaubert	....	unit driver
Francois Litou	....	unit driver (as François Litou)
Phillippe Rinino	....	unit driver (as Philippe Rinino)
Bruno Szwarcbart	....	unit driver

Other crew
Deborah Alexander	....	assistant to Mr. Tenenbaum
Carme Anglada	....	press: Mediapro
Nicolas Biaugeaud	....	production assistant
Nicolas Biaugeaud	....	set production assistant
Fanette Boisot	....	assistant location manager
Angélique Bosio	....	production secretary
Barbara Chayoux	....	script trainee
Morgan Cluette	....	set production assistant (as Cluett Morgan)
Laura Comerford	....	insurance: AON/Albert G. Ruben Inc.
Alice Cordie	....	location trainee (as Alice Cordiè)
Laurence Coutaud-Garnier	....	production coordinator
Mathieu Debusschère	....	production office trainee
Antonin Depardieu	....	location manager
Serge Desfilles	....	assistant location manager
Jessica Drake	....	dialect coach: prep
Bernat Elias	....	staff production crew: Mediapro
Marisa Fernández Armenteros	....	staff production coordinator: for Mediapro
Helena Fernández Pérez	....	legal affairs: Mediapro
Elena García González	....	staff production crew: Mediapro
Inés Gete	....	legal affairs: Mediapro
Perrine Gilbert	....	stand-in
Anna Gonzálvez Ortuño	....	press: Mediapro (as Anna González)
Michael J. Harker	....	completion bond representative
Veronique Hassid	....	legal services (as Véronique Hassid)
Rebecca Hawkes	....	worldwide technical services: Schedule 2
Shani Hinton	....	legal services: Jitterbug Law
Grégoire Jeudy	....	crowd marshall
Yann Jouannic	....	location scout
Rabia Kassam	....	school trainee
Scott Kordish	....	production coordinator
Bernard Lamy	....	production accountant
Eric Leblond	....	production office assistant
Pietro Lorino Jr.	....	production accountant: ny
Eponine Maillet	....	set production assistant
Mauro Margenat	....	chief financial officer: Mediapro
Ana Martí	....	tax consultant: for Mediapro
Richard McCune	....	production financing: City National Bank (as Richard V. McCune)
Tigrane Minassian	....	production office trainee
Astrid Monarque	....	assistant production accountant
Franck Nicolas	....	assistant production accountant
Erik Piecuch	....	production financing: City National Bank
Emma Pindar	....	worldwide technical services: Schedule 2
Sandra Puig	....	business affairs: Mediapro
Pascal Ricuort	....	assistant location manager
Plessy Robin	....	set production assistant
Max Roures	....	set productin assistant
Teia Roures	....	staff production crew: Mediapro (as Teia Roures Cervera)
Julio Rubio	....	press: Mediapro
Yaiza Ráez	....	staff production assistant: Mediapro
Carole Schmidlin	....	set production assistant
Elena Sota García	....	legal affairs: Mediapro
Timothee Talandier	....	assistant location manager (as Timothèe Talandier)
Irwin J. Tenenbaum	....	legal services: Loeb & Loeb
Melissa Tomjanovich	....	assistant: Woody Allen
Carl Turnquest Jr.	....	projectionist
Meritxell Ventanilla	....	business affairs: Mediapro
Stèphanie Vèron	....	location trainee
Katie Watson	....	business representative: SAG
Anne Wermelinger	....	script supervisor
Luis Elías García	....	production intern (uncredited)

Thanks
Vanessa Bruno	....	the producers gratefully acknowledge and wish to thank
Julien Civange	....	the producers gratefully acknowledge and wish to thank
Lydia Courteille	....	the producers gratefully acknowledge and wish to thank
Jerome Dreyfuss	....	the producers gratefully acknowledge and wish to thank
Gaelle Duchemin	....	the producers gratefully acknowledge and wish to thank
Rene Furterer	....	the producers gratefully acknowledge and wish to thank
Caroline Goux	....	the producers gratefully acknowledge and wish to thank
Leonor Greyl	....	the producers gratefully acknowledge and wish to thank
Muriel Guidoni	....	the producers gratefully acknowledge and wish to thank
Dr. Hauschka	....	the producers gratefully acknowledge and wish to thank
Greg Johnson	....	the producers gratefully acknowledge and wish to thank
Emmanuelle Khanh	....	the producers gratefully acknowledge and wish to thank
John Kochman	....	the producers gratefully acknowledge and wish to thank
Isabelle Marrant	....	the producers gratefully acknowledge and wish to thank
David Mayer Naman	....	the producers gratefully acknowledge and wish to thank
Cédric Meeschaert	....	the producers gratefully acknowledge and wish to thank
Christophe Musitelli	....	the producers gratefully acknowledge and wish to thank
Howard Neustadt	....	thanks
Howard Neustadt	....	the producers gratefully acknowledge and wish to thank
Anthony Peto	....	the producers gratefully acknowledge and wish to thank
Jamin Puech	....	the producers gratefully acknowledge and wish to thank
Jay Rubin	....	the producers gratefully acknowledge and wish to thank
Eric Zeller	....	the producers gratefully acknowledge and wish to thank

Production Companies

• Gravier Productions
• Mediapro
• Pontchartrain Productions
• Televisió de Catalunya (TV3)
• Versátil Cinema

Distributors

• Mars Distribution (2011) (France) (theatrical)
• Alta Films (2011) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Sony Pictures Classics (2011) (USA) (theatrical)
• Acme Film (2011) (Lithuania) (theatrical)
• Cathay-Keris Films (2011) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Diamond Films (2011) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Longride (2012) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Medusa Film (2011) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Mongrel Media (2011) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Paradiso Entertainment (2011) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Paradiso (2011) (Belgium) (theatrical)
• Village Films (2011) (Greece) (theatrical)
• Argentina Video Home (2012) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Argentina Video Home (2012) (Argentina) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Argentina Video Home (2012) (Argentina) (DVD) (as part of the pack 'Colección Woody Allen')
• Concorde Home Entertainment (2012) (Germany) (DVD)
• Film1 (2012) (Netherlands) (TV) (limited)
• Golden Scene (2011) (Hong Kong) (DVD)
• Golden Scene (2011) (Hong Kong) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Mongrel Media (2012) (Canada) (DVD)
• Paradiso Home Entertainment (2011) (Belgium) (DVD)
• Paradiso Home Entertainment (2012) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Paradiso Home Entertainment (2012) (Netherlands) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Prorom Media-Trade (2011) (Romania) (all media)
• Shapira Films (2011) (Israel) (all media)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2011) (USA) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2011) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Zon Lusomundo Audiovisuais (2011) (Portugal) (all media)

Other Companies

• 120% Lino  the producers gratefully acknowledge and wish to thank
• 42West  publicity (as 42 West)
• A.B.K.6  radios/mobile phones
• AON/Albert G. Ruben Insurance Services  insurance
• American Vintage  the producers gratefully acknowledge and wish to thank
• Avid Equipment & Support  orbit digital
• Burberry  the producers gratefully acknowledge and wish to thank
• CICAR  trucks
• Caméléons Services VIP  location security
• Cast & Crew Entertainment Services  u.s. payroll
• Catalan Film and Television  with the support of: (as Catalan Films & TV)
• Cerruti  the producers gratefully acknowledge and wish to thank
• Chanel  the producers gratefully acknowledge and wish to thank
• Chopard  and also thank
• Christian Dior  the producers gratefully acknowledge and wish to thank
• Christian Louboutin  the producers gratefully acknowledge and wish to thank
• Château Haut-Brion  the producers gratefully acknowledge and wish to thank
• City National Bank  production financing
• Corachan y Delgado  the producers gratefully acknowledge and wish to thank
• Coupure Repas  craft service
• Dalloyau Paris  the producers gratefully acknowledge and wish to thank
• Deluxe New York  digital intermediate
• Dockers  the producers gratefully acknowledge and wish to thank
• Dolby Laboratories  sound mix
• Domaine Clarence Dillon  the producers gratefully acknowledge and wish to thank
• Eleven Paris  the producers gratefully acknowledge and wish to thank
• Firstep Productions  production services
• Forte Forte  the producers gratefully acknowledge and wish to thank
• Galerie Troubetzkoy  various artworks by
• Generalitat de Catalunya - Institut Català de les Indústries Culturals (ICIC)  with the support of:
• Giorgio Armani Parfums  the producers gratefully acknowledge and wish to thank
• Gobierno de España  with the support of: (Ministerio de Cultura)
• Hermès  the producers gratefully acknowledge and wish to thank
• Hugo Boss  the producers gratefully acknowledge and wish to thank
• Hugo Rubini  french insurance
• Hyperactive Publicity  publicity
• Hôtel Bristol  and also thank (as Hôtel Le Bristol Paris)
• International Film Guarantors  completion guarantee
• Jimmy Choo  the producers gratefully acknowledge and wish to thank
• Jitterbug Law  legal services
• Kenzo  the producers gratefully acknowledge and wish to thank
• Kitsuné Paris  the producers gratefully acknowledge and wish to thank
• LOFT design by....  the producers gratefully acknowledge and wish to thank
• La Compagnie des Bateaux-Mouches  and also thank
• Lacoste  the producers gratefully acknowledge and wish to thank
• Lanvin  the producers gratefully acknowledge and wish to thank
• Le Meurice Paris  and also thank
• Lee  the producers gratefully acknowledge and wish to thank
• Les Deux Ailleurs  the producers gratefully acknowledge and wish to thank
• Les Petites Lumieres  the producers gratefully acknowledge and wish to thank (as Les Petities)
• Levi's  the producers gratefully acknowledge and wish to thank
• Liu Jeans  the producers gratefully acknowledge and wish to thank
• Loeb & Loeb  legal services
• Madison Gate Records  soundtrack
• Marché Paul Bert-Serpette-Puces de Paris St. Ouen  and also thank
• Mediapro  funding
• Miss Sixty/Energie  the producers gratefully acknowledge and wish to thank
• Mission Cinéma-Mairie de Paris  and also thank
• Montblanc  the producers gratefully acknowledge and wish to thank
• Moulin Rouge  Moulin Rouge © is a registered trademark of
• Musee et Domaine National de Versailles  and also thank (as Etablissement Public du Musée et du Domaine National de Versailles)
• Musée Rodin, Paris  and also thank (as Musée Rodin Paris)
• Musée de l'Orangerie-Jardins des Tuileries  and also thank
• Notify  the producers gratefully acknowledge and wish to thank
• Orbis Media  the producers gratefully acknowledge and wish to thank
• Orbit Digital  Avid equipment and support
• Pernod Ricard  the producers gratefully acknowledge and wish to thank (as Pernod)
• Petit Bateau  the producers gratefully acknowledge and wish to thank
• Peugeot  and also thank
• Pontchartrain Productions  production service company
• Préfecture de Police de Paris  and also thank
• Quinta Industries  digital dailies
• Ralph Lauren  the producers gratefully acknowledge and wish to thank
• Ray-Ban  the producers gratefully acknowledge and wish to thank
• Repetto Management  the producers gratefully acknowledge and wish to thank (as Repetto)
• Restaurant Lapérouse  and also thank
• Schedule 2  worldwide technical services
• Sonia Rykiel  the producers gratefully acknowledge and wish to thank
• Sound One  re-recording mixer
• Sound One  sound re-recording (as Sound One Corp.)
• Studio Phil  facilities & trailers
• Studio Phil  facilities
• Studio Phil  trailers
• TSF Paris  grip equipment
• Tequila Solo  the producers gratefully acknowledge and wish to thank
• Transpagrip & Cicar  trucks
• Transpagrip  trucks
• Transpalux  lighting equipment
• Voies Navigables de France  and also thank (as VNF-Voies Navigables de France)

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some sexual references and smoking

Runtime:

USA:94 min | Argentina:100 min

Country:

Spain | USA

Language:

English | French | Spanish | German

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #46482) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Malaysia:PG-13 | Argentina:Atp | Brazil:10 | Netherlands:12 | Chile:TE | Portugal:M/12 (Qualidade) | Sweden:Btl | Ireland:12A | Australia:PG | Singapore:PG | UK:12A | New Zealand:PG | South Africa:PG | Japan:G | Germany:o.Al. | Italy:T | South Korea:15

Filming Locations:

Arc de Triomphe, Paris 8, Paris, France

Company:

Gravier Productions

Trivia:

When Woody Allen had enough budget to shoot the movie in 2006, he contacted his preferred cast but many were working on different projects and couldn't commit. When Owen Wilson's name came up for the leading role, Allen rewrote the character to fit.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: In the opening titles, a girl crossing Champs-Élysées at a traffic light is waving to the camera.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Gil:This is unbelievable! Look at this! There's no city like this in the world. There never was.
Inez:You act like you've never been here before.
Gil:I don't get here often enough, that's the problem. Can you picture how drop dead gorgeous this city is in the rain? Imagine this town in the '20s. Paris in the '20s, in the rain. The artists and writers!
Inez:Why does every city have to be in the rain? What's wonderful about getting wet?

Movie Connections:

References The Exterminating Angel (1962)

Soundtrack:

Le Parc de Plaisir

Midnight Magical Movable Feast

It had to happen sooner or later, and finally it did. Woody Allen and Paris "fell" in love with each other, and, as the result, we, the viewers, received a precious gift from the master of subtle, intelligent and charming dra-medies, gentle and charming "movable feast," the new movie "Midnight in Paris ".

I have been a fan of Woody Allen for long time and seen all his movies, those that he made, and those in which he starred or only wrote the screenplay for. I look forward to each of his films and I am ready to love them before I even see them. I knew I would like Midnight in Paris, but I had no idea how good it was. From the first frame, following the Darius Khondji's camera on such familiar but uniquely beautiful streets, alleys, boulevards and quays of the City of Light, it was hard not to fall in love with Paris and with the film of Allen, his love letter to the most famous city in the world, capital of love and Mecca for writers, artists, musicians and artists to whom Paris gave inspiration during all times and epochs - Belle Époque 1890s, the Golden days of the 1920s, and today, right now...

Midnight in Paris is a delightful, kind (yes, this is Woody Allen), light, and charming film, which can be described as A Paris Midnight Magical Movable Feast. Paris in the film is beautiful during day light, night time, bright sun, and rainy hours. Oscar nominee, the master cinematographer of many remarkable films, including Panic Room, Se7en and Evita, Darius Khondji worked with Allen on three films: Anything Else (2003), Midnight in Paris (2011), and the next film, the Roman project Bop Decameron (2012).

Soundtrack consists of Allen's favorite songs from the 1920s-30s by such songwriters as Cole Porter, Glen Miller, and Enoch Light, and from the repertoire of Josephine Baker and Juliet Greco. For the original film theme, Allen picked the guitar composition of the French jazz guitarist Stephane Wrembel "Bistro Fada". Wrembel's influence and source of inspiration has been the music of the famous French Gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt, whose longtime fan and admirer is Woody Allen himself. According Wrembel, Allen was searching for a typical French-Parisian melody, reflecting the spirit and atmosphere of Paris. I can confirm that the film theme and the songs that Allen picked up for Midnight in Paris are important, integral component of the film's charm and add to the romantic and joyous feeling that the film brings to the viewers.

As always, in Woody Allen's movies, the actors give uniformly good performances. Owen Wilson is very convincing and likable as Gil, Hollywood's successful screenplay writer who works on a first novel, a protagonist, a much younger, attractive, and funny Woody Allen stand-in. Adrien Brody played the best role since The Pianist (very small cameo, but memorable and hilarious). Kathy Bates was very believable as a famous literary critic and friend to the struggling talented writers and artists. Alison Pill was impressive as the bright, outgoing but showing the signs of instability wife of the celebrated American writer. I hardly recognized Corey Stoll but liked him a lot as another famous American writer. Watching Marion Cotillard, I had no problems believing that the character she played, Adriana, could have been the muse and the girlfriend of not just one but three amazingly and uniquely talented world renowned painters. Rachel McAdams (Inez, Gil's not so romantic fiancée), Kurt Fuller and Mimi Kennedy (Inez's parents on the business trip in Paris who don't seem to approve their daughter's choice), and Michael Sheen (Paul, Inez's pedantic and arrogant former boyfriend from college) were quite good as not very likable Americans. The First Lady of France, Carla Bruni appeared in a small role of a museum guide.

The story itself was so lovely in using the time travel as the plot device and brought so many funny and sharp one-liners, dialogs and scenes as well as the plenty moments of recognizing the beloved literature and art figures of the past, that I sat and smiled happily during the whole film. Like I mentioned in the beginning, I expected to love the film even before I saw it and knew from the very first scene that I was in for something very special but my husband, who is much more reserved in his ratings and not often calls a film a masterpiece, used the word for Midnight in Paris and asked whether the film has won some prestigious prizes. Well, the awards season is several months away, but for me, and I am sure for all Woody Allen's fans, Midnight in Paris is a great prize from the writer/director.