PARIS, JE T’AIME

“Paris, je t’aime” opens with a beautiful shot of Paris’ skyline at sunrise, illuminating the city as a dusty, ancient specimen of romantic sentim-entality. This dreamy introduction captures what the viewer can expect in the frames that follow – a film that gives the audience a delicate glimpse into what makes a city its own schizo- phrenic creature.

Anyone who loves urban life knows how in a city, romance, grief, comedy, terror, irony and anonymity combine organically around its inhabitants to create a unique, communal experience. This anthology thrives on exploring these experiences by tackling each part of what makes us human, from the outrageous to the common, with the same kind of attention to detail.

Boasting 20 short-film contributions from such well-known directors as Gus Van Sant, the Coen brothers, Alfonso Cuaron, Wes Craven and Alexander Payne, each short expresses a different, distinct personality, while still retaining a feeling of cohesiveness with the overarching theme of Paris.

While a few of the pieces might be too weird or esoteric for some viewers, the overall collection is fairly even as an anthology. Standouts include the Coens’ wacky take on an American tourist in Paris, starring Steve Buschemi, and Tim Twyker’s short, starring Natalie Portman. In Twyker’s piece, we see a relationship through the perceptive eyes of a blind lover.
The short’s glorious editing, culminating to a climax with the help of lovely narration, makes the film fascinating, complex and emotional to watch, like a visual poem.

But my favorite is director Alexander Payne’s short. In this piece, an over-weight American tourist narrates her experience on vacation in Paris in poorly-pronounced French. Her voice manages to expose her character’s soul in its monotone delivery far better than any overwrought, melodramatic soliloquy ever could. Plus, the short film wouldn’t have
worked so beautifully without actress Margo Martindale’s sad
eyes, telling you that although she is, in fact, wearing a fanny
pack, and although she hasn’t really read the poetry written by
the poets whose graves she visits, she feels, loves and understands Paris. And that’s the beauty of
this collection of tales. Paris is not merely the backdrop
for neurosis and poetry; it is neurosis and poetry. One
doesn’t need a Ph.D. in gothic architecture to
understand, while sitting in a Parisian park on
a sunny day, why life is complicated
and wonderful, and why, “nous tout
Paris d’amour”: We all love Paris.

Grade: A