Paris Je T'aime (2007)

Paris, je t'aime, is an interesting melange of 18 vignettes directed by a host of different directors. Naturally, certain sequences are considerably more affecting than others. "Loin du 16ieme" is a rather profound look at the divide between rich and poor, as well as between native-born French women and the emigres imported to be their servants. "Quartier de la Madeleine" is a very powerful portrait of a drugged-out actress and her boyfriend/pusher. "Faubourg Saint-Denis" is a moving portrait of a young, frivolous actress (Natalie Portman), who plays with and then abandons a blind admirer. Many other sequences seem either incomplete ("Les Marais") or incomprehensible ("Porte de Choisy") but, on the whole, there are more good moments than bad in this film.My disagreement with all those who have commented on this movie favorably is that somehow this movie is supposed to make its viewers love and and admire Paris and perhaps long to visit the "city of lights". But the Paris shown in this film is in large measure an alcoholic, drugged-out, impoverished, and decadent society essentially living off the glories of its past. The only even remotely enthusiastic characters in the film are the Americans and Englishmen who are visiting: the French characters seem depressed, washed up, and largely incapable of action. I am sure that Paris remains an inspiring and beautiful city -- as it has been through the centuries. But one would never know it from watching this sorrowful portrait of a once glorious city on the way out. Love this Paris? Really?

Ah, Where do I start? Well, The Movie is a compilation of 20 stories set in the background of Paris. Presented by 22 Directors, Most segments are touching and heart warming. The crew has some big names like Coen Bros., Alexander Payne, Alfanso Curaon, etc. but the point is everyone succeeds in making their point in merely 10 min. per story. Now, that's a difficult task. To pull out emotional impact and develop the characters in 10 min. There lies the magic of the movie. All these segments work like different music instruments and make one beautiful tune together! Having said that, this movie is not just about Paris, no!! It's a celebration of life, living both joyous and sad moments, exploring yourself and feeling alive. That's what this is on larger aspect. Needless to say that it has many wonderful performances and mesmerizing cinematography.The last segment, directed by Alexander Payne, particularly left a deep imprint on me. It's about a middle aged woman who is alone on a trip to Paris. Living in Paris, she explores herself, she enjoys working for letter posting company. She's there enjoying her lunch everyday, alone. Enjoying the sight scenes of Paris, alone. There she finds a meaning to life. When sitting alone in a Park and looking at all people around her, she describes that she was filled with a particular feeling, a feeling mixed both of joy and sadness but less on the later part. Perhaps, that's what we are, the audience to this movie, looking at these characters.. we feel both joy and sadness!! We explore ourselves. Well, that was my thought.The movie ends with a beautiful monologue supported by a lovely song by Feist -We all go round and round / Partners are lost and found/ Looking for one more chance / All I know is .. We're all in the dance!!How appropriate! :)

Paris, je t'aime (2006) consists of 18 short films, directed by 22 different directors.There are some weaker moments in this movie, but also some really great ones.Joel and Ethan Coen's Tuileries is a comical tale of an American tourist who gets mixed in a conflict of a couple, in Paris metro, after making eye contact with the woman.In Place des Victoires by Noburiho Suwa the mother has lost her son.Then a magical cowboy makes the son appear to her, which is a moment to make you cry.In Tom Tykwers's Faubourg Saint-Denis a young blind man goes through his relationship with a struggling actress.Alexander Payne's 14e arrondissement is a somewhat tragicomic tale of Carol, a letter carrier from Denver, who talks about in her poor French about her first trip to Paris.It nails perfectly the loneliness of a middle-aged woman.There is some pretty neat acting done in this movie.Steve Buscemi is Le touriste.Juliette Binoche portrays Suzanne.Willem Dafoe is Le cow-boy.Nick Nolte plays Vincent.Maggie Gyllenhaal is Liz.Bob Hoskins plays the part of Bob.Elijah Wood is Le garcon.Olga Kurylenko is La vampire.Emily Mortimer plays Frances.Rufus Sewell is William.Marianne Faithful plays Marianne.The recent Oscar winner Natalie Portman portrays Francine.Melchior Beslon is Thomas.Gena Rowlands is Gena while Ben Gazzara plays Ben.Gérard Depardieu plays Le patron.Margo Martindale portrays Carol.Wes Craven is La victime de la vampire.With this cast you can't go too wrong.

A concept which seemed quite interesting, Paris, je t'aime is something I'd encountered and forgotten again a number of times over. Encountered surprisingly in store for a price far lower than that of any I'd seen online, I simply couldn't say no.A project accredited to one Emmanuel Benbihy, Paris, je t'aime assembles eighteen short films from a plethora of international writers and directors, each based around a different arrondisement of the French capital. The concept of love, in all its various and varied incarnations, is explored in these segments. Familiar names and faces appear throughout, the reckonable sum total of talent here almost as interesting as the basic idea. The question: is the whole greater than the sum of its parts?Difficult to characterise, Paris, je t'aime is as interesting as its premise promises. With merely the instruction of a Parisian setting and the theme of love, the respective writers and directors here have been given a fantastic opportunity. As a result, the shorts vary hugely in pace, tone, structure, and dramatic effect. Variation is also seen, obviously and unfortunately, in quality. With approximately five minutes apiece in which to win over the audience, the project calls for the artists to use all their cinematic know-how, interestingly revealing the nature of everyone's talents in the process. The film's best shorts are those which are simple but affecting; uncomplicated yet engaging. Those directed by Salles/Thomas, Coixet, Schmitz, Tykwer, and Payne—none of whom I was overtly familiar with before—are the most effective in managing this, each being in its own way profound and saying something important regarding the central theme. Payne's—the finale to the film—is perfectly placed, a beautiful piece carried spectacularly by Margo Martindale. Podalydès, Van Sant, Suwa, Cuarón, Assayas,and LaGravenese offer a lesser brand of quality to the aforementioned, theirs each less meaningful, but certainly interesting nonetheless. Cuarón's single take is perhaps the film's most appealing technical aspect, incidentally. Those of Chadha, Craven, and Depardieu/Auburtin are less interesting still, and not individual or distinctive enough to warrant much merit of their own, though certainly not bad as such. The startling disparity of Natali's offering is staggeringly out of key with the rest of the film. Though an intriguing concept, and of a type only he appears to have considered, it ends up so distractingly different as to detract from the work as a whole, not least of all because it's poorly done—no surprise, as I later discovered, he being the director of Cube. What remains to comment on are the comedies. Though those that went before were certainly almost all comic in the course of their action, a dramatic approach to the theme was their primary tactic. Sadly, in the case of two of the three overtly comic shorts, it appears that this was a poor choice. They—those directed by Doyle and Chomet—try so hard to amuse that they end up annoying, irritating, vexing, and frustratingly terrible. The only of the three comedies to work is that of the brothers Coen, a well shot piece which illustrates a familiar scenario. Buscemi, in a wordless performance, is wonderful as ever, and the comic highlight of the film as a whole.With some spectacular highs, and a few ignominious lows, Paris, je t'aime is exactly the sort of fascinating project one expects it to be. Beginning well and ending sublimely, its arrangement is well constructed to space the shorts out in the best way possible. Though some segments drag it down massively, its concept is interesting enough, and its facets impressive enough, to ensure it goes down in memory as a success.