NOSTALGIA

Today I want to write about why I both hate and love Woody Allen's movies which take part in Europe.

Blue Jasmine was the first film to be shot in America after a long series of productions in European metropolises such as London, Barcelona, Paris or Rome. My favorite Woody Allen movie is probably Annie Hall next to Crimes and Misdemeanors. I have a weird love-hate relationship though with movies like "Vicky Christina Barcelona", "To Rome with Love" or "Midnight in Paris" and when I watch them they make me both happy and sad. Why? 

Well, I have experienced that at first the movies have an elating and uplifting effect on me, showing the actors having lunch in cute restaurants in little winding side streets with plenty of good food and red wine and nice conversations accompanied by happy yet slightly melancholic background music preferably in Spanish or Italian. 

These kind of sceneries just make me want to grab my bag and spontaneously leave everything behind and fly off to Barcelona to meet artists and eat good food and simply enjoy la dolce vita. 

Here is also where the sad part starts because at the same time I know that if I were to fly off to Rome or Barcelona or Paris, I would never experience the kind of magic that Woody Allen is showing in his movies. I would not meet artists. I would probably not even eat good food but sit in an overpriced room of an international hotel chain waiting for something to happen. Because in the end, I feel like the magic in European cities has gone a long time ago and what is left are overcrowded, touristy places filled with fast food chains and gift shops selling trashy souvenirs made in China. 

Woody Allen's movies awaken a certain feeling of nostalgia for a time before Starbucks, Ibis Hotels and H&M flooded every single metropolis in Europe, killing the citie's identity. 

The movies awaken a certain feeling of nostalgia for a time where you would drink coffee in a tiny sidewalk café, eat pizza which has been handmade by an old, slightly chubby mammina with a dotted apron and meet smart yet unworldly poets living in polygamy. 

After finishing one of his movies, thus, I am always torn between booking a city tour for my next holidays or simply accepting the fact that I'd probably be disappointed anyway. I am really tempted to go to Barcelona though, so if you have been so far please share your experience with me.