Absolutely... Especially with our tendancy to sentimentalise the past as well as other places... In particular the current hispter idea of being nostalgic for a period we have not lived or never experienced...
I think that it was handled with emoathy and not just in a dimissive way...
I've watched it about 5 times
shareIt's one of the best morals in a film, especially in this type of movie. There are a lot of escapist fantasies that indulge in the escapism aspect, but this movie almost goes, "That's all fun, but really you should live in the present, here and now, and focus on your life, not on some other imaginary life." It's even illustrated with his relationship with his fiancee, which is this "ideal" life that Gil feels he should be pursuing, but it won't really make him happy.
It's a wonderful movie, very gentle, very imaginative, and featuring some hilarious and wonderful performances, scenes, and moments.
The sole detraction, for me, is that his fiancee has almost zero redeeming features, and I would have liked to see a bit more struggle with that. But, then again, for her to be that "romantic fool's quest", she kinda has to be completely impractical, right? Still, maybe she could have been "romantic" in her own way, just a different kind of daydream.