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Some Good, Some Bad "Paris, je t'aime", the latest cinematic bon bon from France is just that. A sweet little confection, a real love letter to Paris and everything you can love about the City of Lights. The film tells 18 short stories about love in the capital of France, each set in a different arrondissement. Each of these stories is directed by a different director, with a different cast. Because of this, some of the stories work and some don't. The film smartly combines a variety of stories told by different directors. It works to the film's advantage that the directors represent a variety of countries, each providing a vignette of their idea of love in Paris. It would probably be too cloying and too overwhelming if all of the films were created by French directors. Instead, we are presented with a variety of looks at love, some traditional ideas, between a man and woman, others less traditional. Because each tells a story of a different kind of love, we are guided through all of the different facets of a relationship. Some tell of love at the very beginning, before either person is even aware of the thought, some tell of love between two older people who are divorcing. Yes, they are divorcing, but they have spent many years together and still have a certain amount of affection. One story tells the story of an American actresses' newfound love for the drug dealer who provides her with her fix. Another tells of the love of an American tourist who falls into the hands of a vampire. As you can see, these stories are all over the map thematically, and this creates a highly uneven landscape of stories, but it also creates a film that is, at all times, at the very least interesting. There are a number of stories that work. My favorites are: "Tuileries", the best segment, is written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. A huge fan of their work, they have had a number of missteps recently. This short work will hopefully mark a return to form; the Coen Brothers return to the oddball humor that has served them so well throughout their careers in this depiction of an American tourist who runs into trouble in the Paris Metro. Steve Buscemi plays the tourist and we know this because he is saddled with a huge bag from the Louvre filled with postcards and a mouse pad depicting the Mona Lisa. As he waits for the subway car to arrive, he glances through his guidebook which contains oddball pieces of information like "Don't look the French in the eye". Of course, as soon as he flips to one of these pages and reads this, he looks across the train tracks and spots a young French couple making out. Both of whom look him directly in the eye. The girl uses the American tourist to make her boyfriend jealous. There are many visual touches throughout signaling the return of the Coen Brothers more wacky sensibilities. Tom Tykwer's "Faubourg Saint-Denis" tells the story of a young couple's (Natalie Portman and Melchior Beslon) relationship over the course of the last few months. A blind young man (Beslon) overhears what he thinks is a young woman (Portman) about to commit suicide. It turns out she is merely practicing lines for her audition at a prestigious acting school in Paris. When she realizes she is late, he offers to guide her there and they are off running (Tykwer directed "Run Lola Run" and this seems to be his homage to his breakout film). Then, through a series of flashbacks, we see the high and low points of their relationship. Tykwer also uses a considerable amount of stop motion photography allowing us to span the space of a few months in the course of this vignette. It is an effective story and presents a complicated, but interesting relationship in a very short period of time. Walter Salles' and Daniela Thomas' "Loin Du 16eme" tells the story of a young immigrant mother (Catalina Sandino Moreno) who travels far from her baby everyday to earn a living. The segment is effective because it quickly and accurately portrays a woman's struggles to live and provide for her baby, the love of her life. Alexander Payne's "14th arrondissement" begins with a voiceover by Margo Martindale (a very recognizable character actress). In her halting, poorly pronounced French, she begins to tell the story of her trip to Paris to her French class in Boulder, Colorado, after her return home. As she narrates, we see various 'highlights' of the trip with the sort of oddball sensibility only the director of "Election" and "About Schmidt" could bring us. We hear how she was jet-lagged for five days, but was determined to get out, as she totters around wearing a fanny pack. We hear about all of the things she wanted to do, but couldn't afford. We hear about all of the adventures she has alone, so very alone. It is a hilarious segment depicting the portrait of a woman's love affair with a city. Or is she so determined to enjoy herself that she forces It won't fit. Please read the full review at thornhillatthemovies.com email this review to a friend
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