I’ve always been an avid fan of woody allen since the famous classic Annie hall. It’s about the subtle, sharp and insightful observations of everyday life and those witty, smart, humorous lines that draw me in like crazy.  I recall even in how I met your mother, ted used to see annie hall as yardstick to measure whether he and his girlfriend-to-be can really click, get along and share interest and taste in common.  It’s pretty similar in the movie midnight in paris. Couples usually differ in small things, which may in return lead to major disputes and diversions in life, such as where to spend the weekend, whether to walk in the rain together, etc.  At the end of the day, these are not trivial matters, but rather a general reflection of the personality of the persons involved and their values, beliefs, mode of life at large.

Regarding personality and the way of living, we can say that “you are what you read”, just like the old saying, you are what you eat. It’s not in the limited sense of reading books but anything that you receive and perceive in life, such as information, ideas, pictures, gossip chatters and so on. Your world are made up of these bits and pieces, just like a piece puzzle, every piece defines and confines who we are and what we are.  Thus it suffices to say that each and everyone of us live in a distinctively different world in our own eyes.

The other day, I read an essay that talks about to be is to be in relations. The author claims that Shakespeare’s six words “to be or not to be” are the sole most famous lines in literature except the bible. According to him, the relations is also a broad term, not only about interpersonal relationships, but anything that connects people to the world, like the hobbies you practice on a regular basis, the news you read and pay attention to, the field your occupation and expertise are concerned with. If your mind only cares about the things happen in your small circle of friends, towns, workplaces, then that’s the narrow dimension of you. If you are interested in world affairs, golf, astronomy, poetry, etc, then that’s the scope that defines you.

However, back to the movie, although paul, the know-it-all “expert”, seems to be quite knowledgeable, but it does not necessarily mean he is a vast, abundant ocean as it seems to be, because it’s not merely about what you know, but your true passion and interest, and what you put your heart and soul into.

Another theme in the movie is about nostalgia, a universal sentiment. People tend to dwell on the past or a particular place a lot and always hold the assumption that their life will be much better if they were born in an earlier era, the alleged golden age in the glorious city, center of the world, whether it’s the renaissance, tang dynasty, or the 1920s in paris, so to speak. In some cases, it might be true, but the premise is that there is no hypothesis like this. Every minute counts and we should really focus on making the most of the present and heading to a brighter future instead of contemplating about the impossible, unrealistic thoughts.  although daydreaming doesn not hurt, but also helps from time to time.  But excessive daydreaming may backfire.  We are deeply rooted in this time and space of the cosmos and are destined to make our own way out of whatever circumstances we are thrown in.