Midnight in Paris

So, incidentally saw this couple days ago at dvd stall and decided to try a bit. Mungkin karena saya adalah romance junkie yang curious dengan segala hal yang berbau romantisme. And Paris is a popular symbol of romanticism.

That, or there was Adrien Brody in this movie’s casts. Walopun bukan jadi main role-nya tapi entah kenapa sejak King Kong dan the Pianist, saya kok rada sensi kalo ada nama Adrien Brody di suatu film. Bawaannya penasaran pingin lihat seperti apa filmnya, jadi apa dia.

At first, i thought this movie was one of those mainstream plots and usual stories. American guy visited Paris for holiday then met a girl and fell in love and so on and so on.

But, hey, ini kan filmnya Woody Allen. Woody Allen gitu loh, bok! Nggak mungkin kali, ya, film arahan dia yang sekaligus ditulis juga skenarionya secetek itu.

Film ini bercerita tentang Gil, seorang pemuda Amerika, yang memiliki background karir di dunia film yang cukup sukses, ikut serta berlibur ke Paris bersama tunangannya, Inez, dan orang tua gadis itu.

Nah, sebelum berangkat Paris, Gil sudah berpikir untuk beralih profesi menjadi penulis mengingat passion dia yang sebenarnya adalah sastra. Sejak di Amerika, dia mulai menulis draft novelnya. Dan saat tiba di Paris, keinginannya semakin bulat. Bahkan Gil ingin sekali pindah menetap di Paris karena baginya nuansa Paris begitu magis bagi seorang seniman dan sastrawan karena kota ini melahirkan begitu banyak inspirasi. Apalagi saat malam dan hari hujan.

Tapi, ide itu ditentang mentah-mentah oleh Inez yang tak mau kesuksesan yang sudah susah payah diraih di U.S. dilepas begitu saja demi ketidakpastian karir yang membayangi andai benar si Gil ini alih profesi jadi penulis.

Hingga suatu malam, saat tunangannya asyik hang-out di club dengan sahabatnya, Gil malah tak ikut dan iseng berjalan kaki di sekitar Paris. Tujuan awalnya memang hanya mencari inspirasi untuk draft novelnya, sampai dia tersesat. Kelelahan duduk di undakan tangga di sisi jalan, sebuah mobil dengan tampilan antik menghampiri. Dari dalamnya keluar beberapa orang berpakaian retro a la tahun 20-an mengajaknya ikut serta ke dalam mobil.

Dari sinilah petualangan si Gil dimulai. Tiba-tiba dia seolah dibawa lewat mesin waktu ke era 1920-an. Bertemu dengan seniman dan penulis-penulis terkenal. He met Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, Cole Porter, Pablo Picasso,T.S. Elliot sampai Salvador Dali yang diperankan sama Adrien Brody :).

Dan di malam-malam menjelajah masa lalu itu, Gil jatuh hati pada sosok Adrianna, yang dikisahkan sebagai mantan kekasih Pablo Picasso dan Ernest Hemingway.

Too much spoiler? I sincerely apologize kalau begitu.. :)

Tapi benar, ya, film ini jalan cerita dan akhirnya begitu nggak terduga. Dan saangat imajinatif. Jenis-jenis kisah yang juga jadi impian saya. Menjelajah di masa lalu dan bisa bertemu sosok-sosok yang saya kagumi. Dan berguru dari mereka.

Who doesn’t want that?

Sekali lagi, terbukti kan, karya Woody Allen nggak pernah ecek-ecek. Dialognya asyik, mantap, apalagi saat pentolan sastra yang jenius itu pamer lewat lines mereka. Saya sampai agak-agak speechless.

Ini contohnya :

Ernest Hemingway: Yes. It was a good book because it was an honest book, and that’s what war does to men. And there’s nothing fine and noble about dying in the mud unless you die gracefully. And then it’s not only noble but brave.

Ernest Hemingway: It was a good book because it was an honest book, and that’s what war does to men. And there’s nothing fine and noble about dying in the mud unless you die gracefully. And then it’s not only noble but brave.

Ernest Hemingway: No subject is terrible if the story is true and if the prose is clean and honest.

Gil: You can fool me, but you cannot fool Ernest Hemingway!

Ernest Hemingway: All men fear death. It’s a natural fear that consumes us all. We fear death because we feel that we haven’t loved well enough or loved at all, which ultimately are one and the same. However, when you make love with a truly great woman, one that deserves the utmost respect in this world and one that makes you feel truly powerful, that fear of death completely disappears. Because when you are sharing your body and heart with a great woman the world fades away. You two are the only ones in the entire universe. You conquer what most lesser men have never conquered before, you have conquered a great woman’s heart, the most vulnerable thing she can offer to another.

Death no longer lingers in the mind. Fear no longer clouds your heart. Only passion for living, and for loving, become your sole reality. This is no easy task for it takes insurmountable courage. But remember this, for that moment when you are making love with a woman of true greatness you will feel immortal.

Ernest Hemingway: No subject is terrible if the story is true, if the prose is clean and honest, and if it affirms courage and grace under pressure.

Ernest Hemingway: 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.

Adriana: I can never decide whether Paris is more beautiful by day or by night.

Gil: No, you can't, you couldn't pick one. I mean I can give you a checkmate argument for each side. You know, I sometimes think, how is anyone ever gonna come up with a book, or a painting, or a symphony, or a sculpture that can compete with a great city. You can't. Because you look around and every street, every boulevard, is its own special art form and when you think that in the cold, violent, meaningless universe that Paris exists, these lights, I mean come on, there's nothing happening on Jupiter or Neptune, but from way out in space you can see these lights, the cafe, people drinking and singing. For all we know, Paris is the hottest spot in the universe. 

Gil: That's what the present is. It's a little unsatisfying because life is unsatisfying.

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.

Gert: The job of the artist is not to succumb to despair, but to find an antidote for the emptiness of existence.

sangat sangat worth to watch, lah.