Cultural Narrative-A Day in Montmartre

Today for my “day-off” from visiting Paris’s many museums I decided to go wandering through Montmartre, having never been over there before. One thing I was particularly excited to do was to see the café where the movie Amelie was filmed. Because of its claim to fame, it was super crowded. So I just took a picture and kept walking. I had a lovely time walking around Montmartre, snapping photos, and stopping in shops and art galleries here and there. One of the galleries I went into was for the artist Henri Landier. I really enjoyed his artwork, so I got a couple of postcards.

After wandering extensively I sat down at a little creperie where I got a small scoop of raspberry crumble ice cream and read for a while, getting completely lost in my reading while the rest of the world buzzed on by. This is one thing that I have really enjoyed about Paris—people will sit for hours over the tiniest cup of coffee or pastry and it’s not weird at all. Certainly, in America people will sit in coffee shops for a long time but usually it’s because they have work to do. My impression is that in Paris, people sit down at cafes for long periods of time simply to enjoy life.

After I lingered over my long-gone ice cream for a while I went to go see the new Woody Allen movie, “Midnight in Paris,” at this tiny little theatre in Montmartre. This was a totally different experience from going to a movie theatre in America. First of all, it was tiny, and most theatres that I am used to are huge and chaotic. This one was small and quaint. I arrived a little early, in fact I arrived earlier than the ticket lady, who came behind the booth just ten or fifteen minutes before the movie started. After I got my ticket we had to wait in line until exactly 17:00pm when the movie was to start, and then we were allowed to enter the theatre. In the waiting area there was a small bar, where they also had a window full of what looked like all homemade deserts in casserole dishes with plastic wrap over them. The whole process was so different from what I normally experience when I go to the movies back in the States. In the U.S., the ticket lady would always be behind the counter, and if not there would be an instant complaint. Many people would have already pre-ordered their tickets and would skip the lines altogether, rushing into the theatre to get the best seat. Not to mention the inside of the theatre in Montmartre felt like I was stepping back in time a little bit. The screen was covered up by a red velvet curtain, which slowly opened up right before the film started. When the movie was over, not a single person in the theatre got up before the credits were over, everyone stayed in their seats until the song played its final note.

The movie was amazing. Owen Wilson plays an American writer who is Paris for a short visit with his fiancée, played by Rachel McAdams, and he falls in love with the city and all its glories. I don’t want to give any more plot details away, but everyone should see it! It was such a surreal experience to watch this movie that is almost an ode to the city of Paris, seeing all the shots of the city, and realizing that this is the place where I will be living for the next several weeks. There was even shot of the park near my apartment where I go running in the opening sequence of the movie. After the movie was over I ran into our very own Genna and Amelia, who have their apartment in Montmartre. It was even more surreal to run into two people that I know by chance—in Paris. Especially after I had just seen that movie and was reflecting on how much I love this city.