Woody Allen: Magic in the Moonlight (2014)

Woody Allen's Magic in the Moonlight (2014) takes place in 1928. Why 1928?  It's a brief wondrous moment, far enough off from the Great War of 1914-1918 to allow our characters not to have to dwell on it, even while they remain innocent of the Great Depression and next world war right around time's corner. And so our characters can look grand, banter, and drive around in cool cars between séances and magic tricks while discussing philosophy and mysticism, science and luminous beauty. Places visited include a Berlin theatre and a London mansion, but most luscious of all, the South of France in peacetime -- an artist's paradise.

Emma Stone as Sophie Baker of Kalamazoo, Michigan, with Colin Firth as Stanley, aka the Great Wei Ling Soo.

Magic in the Moonlight -- here, magic in the sunlight. Unlike virtually every other take on this film, I will not make a comparison with other Woody Allen movies. "Why they do that?"

1928 was quite a year. My apartment in Michigan was of that vintage, replete with subtle art deco touches -- fantastic construction, with Detroit in an ascendant economic position. But elsewhere in 1928, the Japanese Imperial Army committed atrocities in China, Benito Mussolini stalked Italy with an "iron fist" and London endured a great flood. Prohibition reigned in the USA, and people along the Mississippi River were still recovering from the Great Flood of 1927. Enjoy life's magic when and where you can.  

Today's Rune: Breakthrough.