茶碗蒸

Nelson Anniversary Day began with a dark and menacing cloud draped over the city, covering the top of the houses with a fine mist of soft grey. Needless to say, the rain followed soon after – the pitter-patter of droplets striking the window panes as I sipped on my tea and luxuriated in the joy of not going to work had a startlingly calming quality, silencing the orchestras of cicadas and other music of Summer that would normally have struck up early in the morning.

So it is, not surprisingly, a day I thought would be perfect for a movie. An artsy movie – preferably with a bit of light humour and romance.

The solution I found was a delightful little piece called “Midnight in Paris”, directed by the famous director Woody Allen in 2011.

The plot itself is a bit like a twisted version of Cinderella – the main character in the film Gil is a writer and also a hopeless romantic who has always had a passion for the past and, in particular, considered Paris in the 1920’s to be the golden era to live in. While on a trip to Paris with his fiancée and her parents, he embarks on an adventure every night as the clock struck twelve as he travels back in time to the 1920’s, and has fascinating encounters with many of his literary and artist idols from the era. Through these experiences, he gradually came to realise that while appreciating the past is important, it is also vital not to lose yourself, for people often forget to treasure as well as make the most of the present.

There was a quote from the movie that Paul said to Gil which I found quite intriguing – “nostalgia is denial of the painful present”. It reminded me of something the JET Programme coordinator said before we left for Japan, about how cultural shock is often from people’s minds being able to block out the negative side of memories when they were remembering the past, hence the old environment often appear to be more appealing than the harsh challenges arising in the present. So people start digging themselves a hole wishing that they could go back to where things were nice and familiar, when in fact the reality back then wasn’t actually as glamorous as they thought anyway, it is just how human memory tend to smooth out the rough edges and beautify things by throwing over a foggy film of sparkling contentment.

There were a few cliché moments in the film that was quite typical of Hollywood romantic comedies, but also quite a few quick witty moments that I couldn’t help but smile at (the scene at the art gallery when he corrected Paul on Picasso’s painting and everyone stared at him like he was a lunatic – classic XD). Owen Wilson’s shocked stuttering throughout the film as he repeatedly met famous writers, directors, and painters from the past were always very amusing to watch, and it was at those times that I wished I was a bit more up to speed with famous artists back in the 1920’s so I could share at least a wee bit of his awe and amazement. I knew Pablo Picasso and Mark Twain, but had very limited knowledge of Ernest Hemingway, Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, Luis Brunuel, Gertrude Stein… and that’s only to name a few that had made an appearance in this film!

Another odd fact that I found fascinating was the overall presentation of Inez in the film. I have to say Rachel McAdams was one of the main motivations for me to see this when I saw the cast list, and true to my expectations she was glamorously portrayed as the fashionable, modern, though not particularly likeable fiancée of Gil. I don’t know if I was over-analyzing again (post-traumatic stress syndrome from high school English??), but I did wonder whether her choices of costume with chic and elegant styles but plain neutral colours were deliberately selected to emphasize her practical, uptight, and unromantic personality. This was in contrast with Gil’s, which was the complete polar opposite. The way the two of them interacted throughout the film also served as a subtle reminder for couples to take the time to communicate and try to understand each other, and the importance of trust and sharing interests (or if not, then trying to understand and support the other’s interests). Of course the catastrophic differences in characteristics for the two were no doubt a little exaggerated for effect, but clashes do happen in real life because one or the other in a relationship fail to recognize the need to encourage thought-sharing and positive support from the beginning. Hence it is great to see that the movie has captured a little of the essence of relationships from that angle at least.

So all in all, I really enjoyed this film as a bit of light entertainment. Nothing too thought-provoking (despite all of the above ramblings haha) but nevertheless fun to watch. And just as I feared before I clicked the play button – I now have an even stronger desire to visit France and walk the old cobblestoned streets of Paris under the warm lights of the dimly glowing gas lamps (I’m sure they are not still gas…. But you know which ones I mean!), or breathe in the scent of freshly baked baguettes while strolling down the banks of the Seine River... Funnily enough a similar feeling also happened after I saw Letters to Juliet five years ago – let’s hope it won’t take me another five years to fulfill this tickle of the travel bugs!