Review: Paris, je t’aime

Does the world really need any further evidence that Paris is a city for Lovers?  Especially in film, after classics like Breathless, Casablanca and Last Tango in Paris, the tone has already been set – and there just might not be any more room for romantic testaments to the power of the City of Light. That is why Paris, je t’aime, by its title alone, was a risky proposition, but it’s also one that largely (and grandly) pays off.  In this motley collection of 18 shorts, each based in a different quartier of Paris and centered around the idea of la rencontre romantique (the ‘romantic meeting’), there are some near-misses but quite a few direct-target hits, in the same vein as Cédric Klapisch’s love letter to the north of Bastille and 11th arrondissement Chacun Cherche son Chat (English title When the Cat’s Away). As evidenced in the grandiose and moody interludes, the Paris depicted here is definitely candied-up, choosing for the most part to use the city as a vague but beautiful backdrop for love the old-fashioned way, but the mood never feels fake or forced.  And there are a few darker, moving portraits of people meeting in less than desirable circumstances, passages that do succeed in touching upon a Paris that is far from romance and sunshine.  One, Place des Fêtes, chronicles the attack on an African man in the heart of the 19th arrondissement and the emergency worker that tries to save him, and another, Loin du 16e, gives us an honest portrait of the immigrant struggle in Paris as lived by a young Spanish mother who must abandon her own infant to go take care of another in far away ‘posh’ Paris. There are other moments of heartbreak here, but they are of the more mildly melodramatic variety.  What is so curious though is that the melodrama never feels contrived or unnatural, even in these short 5 minute doses.  Place des Victoires and Bastille (featuring Juliette Binoche and Miranda Richardson, respectively) are two good examples, moments when love and death intermingle with surprisingly moving results.  Perhaps you should be in the mood to pull out a hanky or two in order to appreciate. Other standout moments include Tom Tykwer’s sketch of Faubourg St. Denis, featuring his trademark and effective storytelling technique of fast-motion (he directed Run Lola Run) to tell the story of Natalie Portman’s long term relationship with a blind French boy, while disappointments include Alfonso Cuaron’s Parc Monceau, which digs up Nick Nolte and his terrible French in a one-shot-long dialogue with a weak conclusion. But regardless how you feel about the rest, if you’re an expatriate (or even simply a traveler who experienced something special during your last visit to this city), make sure to sit through until the end.  14e arrondissement, directed by Alexander Payne of Sideways fame and featuring the incredibly talented veteran character actress Margo Martindale, is a refreshing and sensitive character portrait that hits home when it comes to that indescribable feeling that keeps most of us here, calling the streets of Paris our home.  Aside from being hilarious linguistically (the American-accented French voiceover is laugh-out-loud funny, even for the usually calm French audience), the joy and sadness that this short piece manages to simultaneously encompass is hard to describe unless you yourself have spent some time here. Like most love letters, the feeling you’re left with is warm and fuzzy.  Naturally, this might not be everybody’s cup of tea, especially if you’re looking for an honest and searing picture of the city as it is today.  Nonetheless, if you’re in the right mood, Paris je t’aime will hit you with moments of intimacy, joy, pain and heartbreak that are unexpected and quite welcome. Copyright © Dan Heching