Paris Je T'aime (2007)

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Better Late Then Never

Yo, there's no way for me to review this film without saying, take your *insert ethnicity + "ass" here* to see this film,like now. You have to see it in order to know what you're really messing with.

Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies

I felt this film catered very much to an American market, but within that, it took risks and didn't take itself too seriously. It was refreshing to see a different side of Paris with Steve Buscemi getting mugged. I, too, have been to one of those Metro stations where things can get quite seedy and you find yourself alone. The story about the Spanish girl forced to leave her baby to be an au pair to a rich woman across town was also quite unusual and illuminating. The mime sequence was silly, but it was funny. The vampire sequence was just silly. Natalie Portman's episode as the American dating a blind man was quite moving. Maggie Gyllenhaal's segment as a drug addicted actor was also moving and an interesting take on an actor abroad. I found the final segment of the American tourist (Margo Martindale) unexpectedly moving. She is enthralled by all the tourist sights, with a voice-over of her giving a talk about it to her French class back home. Here was someone with a genuine affection for Paris and for France. Sure it was kitsch and her French was crude, but it really rang true, and it went beautifully with the film's theme of a love story -- for her, love was having a picnic in the park with a sandwich in Paris. And it was not a bad thing to do at all.

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?

To my mind, Paris, je t'aime started out with a bang, then faltered somewhat. Following are my favorite stories.*** spoilers galore ***In "Place des Fetes", an EMT tends to the fatal stab wounds of a street musician. While he dies, he recalls where and how he encountered her before. Sweet, and oh, so sad. Definitely the story that touched me most deeply--and my favorite.In "Loin du 16o", a poor young woman sings a lullaby to her baby, only to have to leave her child there to care for some wealthy woman's child, to whom she sings the same song. It is very sad, and easily my second favorite segment.In "Quais de Seine", a white teenage boy comes to the aid of a Muslim girl who fell, instead of being a cad, like his friends. The two strike up a conversation, and she explains why she freely wears the hijab. He follows her to her mosque and meets her grandfather, who is leery of him. Eventually, the old man invites the boy to walk and talk with them.This is a quiet, powerful message about xenophobia, tolerance and broadened world views.In "Quartier Latin", a long-married couple (Gena Rowlands and Ben Gazzara) meet to discuss finalizing their divorce. There's much witty, acerbic banter, but underneath the flip comments, there is clearly sadness and regret.In "Montmartre", a man irritated by horrible traffic--and his life--comes to the aid of a hypoglycemic woman who faints by his car, and they end up in a relationship. The guy was believable, and funny!Honorable mention goes to:1) "Quartier des Enfants Rouges", about an actress and her blind boyfriend navigating their relationship; 2) "Bastille", about a man who confesses he's leaving his wife only to learn she is terminally ill, falls in love with her again while caring for her until she dies, and then he's lost; 3) "14ème Arrondissement", about, and narrated (in clumsy French) by a lonely American postal worker vacationing in Paris, who learns to embrace both the joy and sadness in her life, and thereby falls in love with Paris; 4) "Place des Victoires", about a grieving mother (Juliette Binoche) who can't accept her young son's recent death, but gets one last sweet chance to say goodbye to him; and 5) "Tuileries", about a tourist (Steve Buscemi) who tries but can't avoid abuse and violence from a hoodlum in a Paris subway, and it's pretty funny.The other segments were mediocre. Still, the movie is worth watching.

Usually, the movie is more like a novel and you have to spend whole 2 hours to "read" it all. Some are good, some not. This one, in contrast, is a good "book" of short stories. As usual, not all are good but all in all this is great film. I've seen it several times already and, probably, will will be seeing more. It has good aftertaste and definitely worthwhile to see. At least, to make your own impression. As soon as each episode is not long (some 5-6 minutes) it is easy to skip one you do not like, at least when one decides to see it next time and one definitely does.The strange requirement to give at least 10 lines in the review. I do not want to go into details, especially episode-by-episode. There are 18 of them and all are different. I believe, each of them find the viewer.