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A Moveable Time

Midnight in Paris was delightfully different and, to me, believable!  If you have seen the movie, you will understand that Owen Wilson's character, Gil, travels back in time, while "vacationing" in Paris with his fiance and future in-laws.  There are some clever moments and of course views of the beautiful, historic sites, but the real draw for me was the concept of time travel.

We learn early on that Gil, a Hollywood screenplay writer, feels like a "sell-out."  He seems to regret living in today's society, rather than in the roaring 1920s, especially while walking through the streets of Paris, considering the writers and artists that flocked and flourished there, at that time.  His fiance is eagerly awaiting their future together in the hills of Malibu.  She is drastically portrayed as plastic and shallow.

Gil is drawn so much to that time period and to those artists and poets who have contributed to our culture that, at midnight, while walking along a Paris street, an old, circa 1920-type automobile slows to a stop and its passengers invite him along.

I'll leave the rest of the story alone, for those who haven't seen it yet.  But I will comment on the ruefulness he felt about living today as opposed to the '20s.  Ultimately, the message I heard was that we should accept and savor our moment in time.  That looking back or forward is not going to instill or create happiness in us.  We should find joy in our present day and live now, not regretting or lamenting this time or that.

That's a tall order, but worth pursuing.

Comments

joy said…
sounds like genetic dna related to prior life experiences of ancestors!
i cant wait to see it. .

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