[27.10.11] The City of Lights

Paris. The city of lights (or love). The setting for the two recent movies I watched – Monte Carlo and Midnight in Paris.



Monte Carlo was about a girl (Selena Gomez) who went on her grad trip to Paris; got mistaken as a British heiress; as a result had a lavish and indulgent holiday in Monte Carlo; met the man of her dreams; and somehow escaped prosecution when exposed.






Midnight in Paris was about this writer Gil (Owen Wilson) on a vacation with his fiancé in (duh!) Paris. He was totally in love with the city and the 1920s. Spoiler alert! Every day at midnight, he gets on a car which transports him back in time to his golden era where he meets historical figures e.g. Ernest Hemmingway, Gertrude Stein, Pablo Picasso.






Gil's scene with Adriana where he talks through his decision to return to 2010 was inspirational. It portrays men’s perennial dissatisfaction with his present, always longing for a “golden age”, serving as a reminder for the need to appreciate the present.



In both movies, I am mesmerized by the streets of Paris and of course the magnificent architecture of the Eiffel Tower. I especially like the night view where its elegant shape appears more defined with the warm orange lights outlining the structure. Couldn't agree more with the movie lines:



How’s anyone ever going to come up with a book or a painting or a symphony or a sculpture that can compete with a great city?
You can’t. When you look around, every street, every boulevard is its own special art form.