Movie Review: Midnight in Paris! (and a little about the Barnes Foundation)

D'accord, so I saw Woody Allen's new movie, Midnight in Paris, TWICE. I loved it that much. It flooded my mind with old memories from my time in Paris, memories I had nearly forgotten. I thought nothing could top the opening credits in the original Charlie and the Chocolate factory movie, which features chocolate being made in an actual factory... it makes me salivate every time I see it! But as soon as the first image of Paris appeared on the screen in Midnight in Paris, I instantly just groaned with jealousy for whoever was behind the camera. I just sat back and watched the gorgeous images, enraptured. From then on, I knew I was in for a great hour and a half.

Some of my favorite spots were featured in the film too! Shakespeare and Co., Polidor, le Marché aux Puces, L'Orangerie, square Jean-XXIII, musée Rodin, to name a few. It just really captured the essence of Paris, to me.

Also, I happened to visit the Barnes Foundation a couple days prior, as it was my last chance to visit it again in its original location before the collection moves to a new home in Philadelphia. It's a super interesting story if you've never heard about the Barnes collection. In my understanding, Dr. Barnes, who had the foresight to collect an amazing amount of incredible impressionist art, said in his last will and testament that the collection was to be always displayed exactly how he envisioned it in his property in Lower Merion, PA. His aim was to further art education for students of the arts. Now, the Barnes Foundation museum in Lower Merion is closing on July 3rd, and all the art will be moved to the new location. There is much controversy surrounding the move, with many Barnes supporters in opposition. Click here to read an article about the issue. Here is a snippet from the Barnes Foundation website about the collection:

"The Barnes Foundation houses one of the finest collections of French Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, and early Modern paintings in the world, including an extraordinary number of masterpieces by Pierre-Auguste Renoir (181), Paul Cézanne (69), and Henri Matisse (59). The collection also includes important works by Pablo Picasso (46), Chaim Soutine (21), Henri Rousseau (18), Amedeo Modigliani (16), Edgar Degas (11), Vincent van Gogh (7), Georges Seurat (6), Edouard Manet (4), and Claude Monet (4). "

One of the rooms on the bottom floor. I admit, the museum is outdated in terms of security and layout. I felt like some crazy person would be quite able to rip a painting off the wall and run out, as the security guard at the door was quite old and inept. And it did make me nervous that many rooms were unattended, every time a person would toe the black lines in surrounding the art-packed walls.

I'm wondering what happens to this mural by my favorite artist, Matisse, that is actually painted onto the wall!!???

Midnight in Paris features some of these artists, and I won't say to much if you haven't seen it yet, but it was really great to see Picasso and Modigliani's works, and then see the film that features these same artists.
One side note that I was wondering during the film: How unrealistic was it for Rachel McAdams to be wearing high heels the entire time? I know I've tried it, and it didn't really work for me. Whether it's the cobblestone streets, or the plentiful stairs in the metro, heels in Paris, all day, is not an easy task.

Here's the trailer. GO SEE IT ASAP. If you've already seen it, GO AGAIN! It's the closet thing to a quick RDV in Paris!