La Boheme reference in the beginning.

In the beginning, we meet writer, Emile Zola and painter, Paul Cezanne freezing to death in a Paris garrett in much the same way as writer, Rudolfo and painter, Marcello were in the opening of Puccini's opera "La Boheme." They even go so far as to burn a book in the stove to keep warm, although in this case, it is someone else's book and not the protagonists. I was surprised nobody else on here had mentioned this. Of course, there the similarities end and the real story begins.