“I mean this is unbelievable. Look at this, there’s no city like this in the world. There never was… Can you picture how drop dead gorgeous this city is in the rain? Imagine this little town in the 20s. Paris in the 20s. In the rain, the artists & the writers.”
The opening dialogue delivered by the main character, Gil Pender, a Hollywood scriptwriter whose trying to finish his novel, and his girlfriend Inez during their holiday in Paris ilustrates the romantic fascination Pender has for the city, as well as ilustrates the premise of the film.
Pender and Inez were having a tag-along holiday in Paris with Inez’s parents who were closing a business deal there. They were joined by Inez’s friends, X and X. One night, after one too many drink with Inez and her friends, Pender took a walk and got lost. At midnight, a car stopped in front of him and ask him to hop in. Which was dangerous in real life, you know… hopping into strangers’ car in the middle of the night, in a city you barely knew. Alas, this was a movie, so everything could happen. Pender then suddenly transported into the 1920s.
The movie followed him and his encounter with the famous 1920s authors: Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, et cetera. It portrayed the French cafe society and the freedom of the 20s era: booze and parties.
As a person who likes the 20s period, I love this movie. This is a kind of movie that over time I would rewatched and never feel bored. The 1920s feels ethereal. It was a period that only lasted for 10 years and then after the great depression, things were never the same. Almost like a fairy tale but with bittersweet ending. The visual of the film was pleasing to my eyes: I was given the scenery of Paris and the atmosphere of the 20s. I saw drop waist dresses, men in suits, and the fictional versions of the writers and artists in the 20s. I felt like I was also taken into their world, just like Pender did.
This is a nice movie to watch in holiday, where you sit in your couch while the rain is pouring down outside and you have your cup of warm chocolate with you as a companion.
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