62. Investigate the characters from “Midnight in Paris”

When I first saw this movie, I was with my friend Jack, and we were very surprised by all the great artists of the last century coincide in a moment in Paris. We were a little skeptical, and we didn’t know much about the 1920’s.

So I got curious and put it on the list of things that I need to verify, and Yesterday I finally did.

I was so amazed by the fact that all these minds, all these people were in Paris during the 1920’s, can you imagine? that must have been so inspiring, so vibrant. All this flowing in the air, in a city like that.

And then I started wondering, if that same thing has happened ever again, and I could only think of the 1960’s where all this political and ideological change was going on, all this new music, new art too. What a great time to live it most has been too, but I don’t know if everyone converges in one city too.

But returning to “Midnight in Paris”, the characters that appear in the movie are:

Gertrude Stein and her all-time partner Alice B. Toklas, Salvador Dali, Cole Porter, Juan Belmonte, Zelda Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Scott Fitzgerald, Pablo Picasso, Josephine Baker, Djuna Barnes, Man Ray, Luis Buñuel, T.S. Elliot and Henri Matisse. But also in the movie mention: Jean Cocteau, Coco Chanel, Amadeo Modigliani, Georges Braque, Joan Miro and Joan Faulkner.

Anthe there where even more artist in Paris at that time, Like James Joyce, Ezra Pound, Van Gogh, Monet…everyone!

Something that surprises me was that Salvador Dali had a brother that was named Salvador too, 9 months before he was born, but he died, and their parents took him to his brother grave when he was like 5 years old, and he was really confused about that. I would have been in shock.

Also, I didn’t know anything about Djuna Barnes and apparently she was an amazing writer, that didn’t get much recognition.

It freaks me out a little that Hemingway commits suicide,  just like his father, and years later their bothers did the same too.

I watch a documentary about Josephine Baker and how difficult was for her as an Afro-American woman living in the USA at that time, and how different was her life in Paris, where the racial conflict was less extreme. Actually, in Paris, she was acclaimed and loved.

I was impressed by the amount of music that was composed by Cole Porter and realized that most songs of Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald and the music for the movies of Hollywood of that time were his work.

And I was really excited about the fact that the first weekend of December I’m going to dress up like a flapper girl, for the birthday party of a friend of mine.