Bishop Barron on Woody Allen's "Midnight In Paris"

[@davidleedutton]

No one has ever explored the complexities of nostalgia better than Woody Allen.

[@mckenna8663]

WOW! Great review! (Just tripped into your channel) I learned this same lesson in a rather different way. I was a young teacher living in a smaller town, and I was taken under the wing of a mentor a number of years older than myself. I don't remember how the subject came up, but she started to tell me, "When I was pregnant with my son, I couldn't wait for him to be born. When he was born, I couldn't wait for him to walk. When he could walk, I couldn't wait for him to ride a bike. When he rode a bike, I started thinking about him learning to drive a car. He got married a few months ago and now has driven away to the other side of the country. And I recently realized....I never stopped and just enjoyed "that" moment. I always longed for the future. - - - Promise me you won't waste your life LONGING."

[@Blackrain4xmas]

EASILY the best movie review I have ever seen. It's not just of the plot and acting, but of the meaning and how it applies to us....to me Thank you!

[@califmike2003]

Well said, this is the time God has given us, make the most of it. You said it again, Paris is so so beautiful in the rain, i lived there too.

[@winstonsmith9533]

Loved this, thank you Bishop Barron! Woody is great!

[@cheryleluzack4023]

Beautiful! Thank you.

[@DiggerWhoops]

Wonderful how you tie it all together, Bishop Barron. Thanks you!!!

[@BishopBarron]

@AgentDevlin But heaven is not endless time; it is rather the state of eternity, or being outside of time. Another way to put this: heaven is living in the eternal Now.

[@virtueleague2005]

I believe this too in past I don't want to believe that so I believe in reincarnation but later I finally became catholic.thanks really great comment

[@adrianekelly2966]

Bishop Robert Barron , wonderfully put. Thanks very much. Woody Allen has said much about the anxiety produced by believing no answers are available to us, that there's no factual basis for believing anything outside of this temporal world exists. Life has no meaning. Nothing really satisfies. The questions, "Is there life after death?" And "Can you change a twenty?" are equally relevant. There is no awe, wonder, thrill of the miraculous, profound gratitude for any part of human experience. It is a life philosophy of perpetually unhappy people. We may feel for others and have passing pleasures, but life itself is not precious as it is. I truly enjoyed this film for many reasons, and I applaud everyone in it. It's beautifully done. It has a good message, but in the heart and mind of a fulfilled Allen, it might have held a sense of joy, of trust in how creativity can come from healing after being wounded. Florian Henckel von Donnersmark, who recently made the film, Never Look Away, celebrated the alchemical process in which, as Elia Kazan said, "Creativity is the scab that forms over the wound". This transmutation is one of the most powerful expressions of human courage inspired by the ineffable flow of inspiration available to humans. Many are too entrenched in fear, sorrow and anger over wounding to dare feeling what we've been created, intelligently designed, to encompass. In doing so, I sense that we touch the whole world with the bravest love possible. I just found your channel, and I'll certainly listen to more of your thoughts. I'd love to hear your impressions of Never Look Away, and also a documentary called The Biggest Little Farm, in which the obstacles and losses seem almost 'biblical' in their intensity. Both are quite challenging to merge with. I watched both in a 24-hour period and found my emotions seriously affected. I'm glad, though, to have received the beauty and spirit of them. My best to you, and thank you. By the way, a local pastor was extremely ill with the covid virus, is recovering well, and during the worst of it he recorded his usual online sermon, to maintain his connection with all those who rely on him. It's entitled, "Hope is contagious". I've sent it to people I know all over. I hope you find it resonant with all we hold most positive and beneficial. 🙏🌎 Calvarysc.org

[@tonyminnichsoffer7401]

Bravo, Bishop Barron! My motto is "NUNC EST." I love the quotation: "Yesterday's history, tomorrow's a mystery and today's a gift that's why it's called the present." May God be with your Spirit.

[@RichKosack]

Be happy with your present life. Thanks Woody!

[@tomvalveede6808]

I love the way you so clearly articulate your thoughts and ideas, and somehow, you show us the Spiritual significance of any topic, and make it Meaning, Applicable to our own lives. Through my life, l have seen some of my friends and acquaintances, seem Bored with life; unhappy. I've said this to them, and it kind of "returns them," "This is Your time, be happy!" "This isn't a dress rehearsal"! This works for me too, l have so many people, loved ones, now gone. But, now, instead of longing for them, which is useless, l Thank God for His giving me those persons to Love and Appreciate, to have such fond memories of. Love to listen to you, you'd be a great friend to learn from! All the best, stay healthy! Your friend in Kansas City, Tom PS My Saint, as l call her is St. Thérese. She had never failed me, and she l credit for my great spiritual growth, and growth in Faith. It really gives a person a lot of Peace, to Know and let God. ♥️

[@praisegod3768]

Loved this movie and love the ministry of Bishop Barron!

[@lemorab1]

I just found your channel. Wonderful review and insights! Thank you. During the past 15 years, since the deaths of my parents and several friends and family members, I have been thinking of the past constantly. I enjoy listening to you express your thoughts.

[@mehuiznega]

My friend coined the phenomenon in this movie as "The rosy hue of nostalgia." Loved this movie and commentary.

[@BishopBarron]

@jontv Meister Eckhart, John of the Cross, Teresa of Avila, Therese of Lisieux, Thomas Merton...to name a few.

[@ant7936]

Lovely film, worth revisiting. Nice summation, thanks.

[@sean48442]

Great, great clip!

[@ravissary79]

phenomenal review. I love all your film insights but wish more were like this: seeing what good truths reside amidst the warts.

[@BishopBarron]

The vast majority of them are precisely of that type.

[@ravissary79]

Bishop Robert Barron​ unfortunately I feel you think I'm being overly harsh. My apologies. In truth I feel there is MUCH to be critical of in most of Woody Allen's material, specifically from a Christian perspective, but this one was a real gem in that it captures something we know to be true from God's word, but explains it better than most of us manage.

[@jpsned]

One of the smartest people I've ever heard speak.

[@terryfenwick]

This has nothing to do with Woody Allen - but Fr. Barron has this gift of not letting evil take anything 'from' us as Christians. He, instead, throws light of truth on evil - never being negative or attacking, but letting light of truth do the exposing and then, in some incredible way, he uses the entire situation to teach! Remember the song, years ago, "Why Should the devil have all the good music?" We tend to surrender to evil too often by letting it have the last word.

[@michaelsieger9133]

This guy is great

[@speedracer6294]

Living in the present is a central theme of stoicism. Great movie. Nice review.

[@ant7936]

For a man without hope, Allen certainly has insight.

[@cindydoheny651]

Lovely

[@chriskelleher349]

9/2019 is my now. I hope you and Mr Allen meet. I liked your review. A fulfilling movie for me too.

[@havock89]

@blogsofasoul I love that. I would choose to pray, "Jesus, I netrust my past to your Mercy, my present to your Holy Spirit and my future to the Providence of our Father."

[@jean-francoisbrunet2031]

Well, I don't believe in God or in any "God's will" but this the most cogent critique, or summary of Midnight in Paris that I have come across.

[@williambagley5415]

Well said...Live in the now!

[@vintasgeport]

In any weather, at any hour of the day or night, I have been anxious to improve the nick of time, and notch it on my stick too; to stand on the meeting of two eternities, the past and the future, which is precisely the present moment; to toe that line.__Henry Thoreau

[@BIGBobJohn23]

amazing father

[@drbassface]

Be here, now. Nice

[@ivanvino8243]

awesome

[@souvikbose1133]

After watching the movie the review which came up in my mind was absolutely the same as you say or expressed. Only one contradiction I'll say with my point of view is that, its an artist who can't tolerate reality but stay within it and seeks for answers or symbolises the upcoming notion in his or her mind by getting to the past, thus its not always they move with the time but beyond what's happening.

[@shielakay]

yep-you get it just right

[@danieldominguez8135]

Midnight in Paris is the film representation of Ecclesiastes 7:10

[@theforeverpuddle8754]

Take out "God's will" at the end of minute 6 and Father Barron is basically a buddhist. Good take on the movie, I agree. The future doesn't belong to you, the past is already done. No choice but to just live in the now.

[@thomaswilliamruston]

There's no reason why Buddhism and Catholicism can't have a conversation based on a mutual recognition of truth

[@user-kd7we8jx9m]

Great point alluding to how we don't follow up with these big figures. They create some incredibly beautiful stuff. The problem is these figures are idealized without fully looking into their world views. I remember having this discussion about Kurt Vonnegut some time ago. One of the most clever writers of our time with a keen ability to tease out subtlety, but eventually attempted suicide. Scott Hahn said the big atheist of his time converted, but most probably don't follow up on that.

[@TheEvolvedMind]

Good video. Your comments and thoughts regarding fillms are always so deep and profound. If the whole "priest thing" doesn't work out, you can always find work as a film critic. ;)

[@JesusIsLove2512]

Praise the Lord Jesus Christ 🙏 Mother Mary Pray For Us 🙏Abba Father Bless us and we Adore You 🙏

[@jimfoley8014]

Al Bundy harkens back to his golden years of HS football where he scored 4 touchdowns in a game.

[@The_Port_of_Honor]

How existential.

[@reginaclaire4680]

❤

[@fredhannum4015]

The spiritual now !.. . . . . And Woody Allen. . . . .

[@andreshernandez1180]

“He’s much less taken by modern Paris and he’s sort of hankering after the roaring 20’s”. I disagree with the first part of that sentence. He does feel nostalgia for the 20’s but he still loves modern Paris, in fact, the movie starts with Gil telling his fiancée to consider moving there. Modern Paris is not why he’s “wandering alone, bored and unhappy” but his fiancée not wanting the same things he wants.

[@igormendonca4026]

agreeable ESTJ with developed Si

[@user-kd7we8jx9m]

@AgentDevlin We Catholics certainly do appreciate the beauty, silence, and friendships of the right now. As Jesus said, "the kingdom of God is at hand". It's both here-now and to come. Luke 17:20-21 could be worth a google. Just for fun, I've heard Saint Theresa of Avila paraphrased as saying "It's heaven all the way to heaven, [and hell all the way to hell]".

[@agentjs09]

@DJDizzy113 The medieval period definitely had its disadvantages, including the plague, the Vikings, and feudalism. I think the reason some Catholics like the medieval period is because of the blend of Church and state. But I think all time periods have a very different set of challenges. Personally I have always had a little desire to live in ancient Greece.

[@jorgejohnson451]

6:18 Why was Picasso “a terrible man”?

[@henrycolestage4249]

Great artist, awful human being to others (especially women) ;(from wiki) Picasso has been commonly characterised as a womaniser and a misogynist, being quoted as having said to one of his mistresses, Françoise Gilot, "Women are machines for suffering."[121] He later told her, "For me there are only two kinds of women: goddesses and doormats."[122] In her memoir, Picasso, My Grandfather, Marina Picasso writes of his treatment of women, "He submitted them to his animal sexuality, tamed them, bewitched them, ingested them, and crushed them onto his canvas. After he had spent many nights extracting their essence, once they were bled dry, he would dispose of them."[123]

[@jorgejohnson451]

@@henrycolestage4249 Interesting. Thanks.

[@richardthelionheart5594]

Tangier of the '40 and '50s Wm S Burroughs, Alan Ginsberg et al (maybe Jack Kerouac Paris `of the '30s and '40s Henry Miller and Anais nin Paris during the Lost Generation 1920s, Hem, Dos Pasos, Gladys and F Scott Fitz, Cole Porter

[@JerryFla2000]

good one.... with the possible exception...of the 30's I could be jam with Django Reinhardt. lol

[@jontv7350]

I haven't seen the movie, but it sounds interesting. I agree with the thesis of the video, that it's foolish to spend time and energy longing for a time other than the one you are experiencing in the current moment. I do think is something that's common to the mystic wing of most spiritual traditions. I wouldn't say that Christianity is especially strong on this. I associate it more with Buddhism. Who are the Christian thinkers you are referring to?

[@edmundliuweilun]

Happiness is far overrated. Living is not about being happy, it is about the pursuit of happiness in your own terms. We would rather be a person who keeps pursuing happiness in my own terms with constant frustrations than being happy in a bubble by doing what other people tell me to do.

[@cerevor]

I didn't get that with the rain at all. I thought it was just something by which to recognize the true romantic soul as opposed to the shams in the story... I also didn't question the portrayal of the artists, or that there was any thematic point in their characterisation. But I'm still not sure about the rain, it seems a fairly close reading. It seems true, because otherwise there would be almost no point at all, but it presupposes a specific symbolic instead of aesthetic evaluation of the rain

[@greatbookie]

"hic tempus, solus tempus." -- me

[@billybagbom]

@2StepTwice Evil creates nothing. It can only distort what is good, which includes both music and taste.

[@billybagbom]

It has the added advantage of being true ;-)

[@rassy612]

@wordonfirevideo St Francis of Assissi...Padre Pio...

[@MarcoBonechi]

some still want to force everyone to live in 1780s...

[@krdiaz8026]

Now let's romanticize the Catholic Church pre-Vatican II. Just kidding!

[@Stealthkiller17]

That´s almost existentialist thinking.

[@jeffwest5244]

This is a remarkably cogent exegesis from a man who's sadly not applied his keen critical/analytical skills to his own unshakable faith so that he might come to regard the whole of his existence as nothing but a moment (" … a crack of light between two eternities of darkness." - Nabokov), preferring instead to regard life's palpable presence as mere preface to an imagined paradise!

[@charliedw100]

Oddly, I agree with the good Bishop here, except I think when he speaks to the future, he’s forgetting the Catholic idea of an expectation of heaven (as regards not living for the future).

[@andrewsapia]

larry norman, "only visiting this planet".

[@fyrz1319]

This man is like Seinfeld. Much to do about nothing. It's a a fantasy movie. Just watch it and enjoy. No need to think about it's "meaning".

[@BishopBarron]

Friend, you really think that the highly philosophical Woody Allen has no interest in the "meaning" of his movies?!

[@fyrz1319]

@@BishopBarron No, that's not what I think. As to being "highly philosophical..." (or was that sarcasm, no matter). It's just an enjoyable movie especially if you are a writer or a history buff. By all means write your analysis/review. I'm sure some found your insight "philosophical". As far as my analysis/review of your post...It's just a good nature jab. I'll end with a little philosophical statement of my own: The meaning of life is life itself, its not that complicated.