Paris, je t'aime [Paris, I love you]
is one of the brilliant collage films that I have ever seen!
I was absolutely thrilled to catch this 2006 film
that has brilliant assemblage of 18 short films
made by eminent directors from across the world.
Paris - as a city - has always intrigued us.
We look up to it principally as a city of love,
passion, art and culture.
The film too explores the city of Paris from
various such perspectives, some known....
some not much explored before.
The directors include Gus van Sant, Christopher Doyle,
Gurinder Chadha, Tom Tykwer, Walter Salles,
Alexander Payne, Alfonso Cuaron, Sylvain Chomet,
Vincenzo Natali, Wes Craven, Nobuhiro Suwa,
Oliver Schmitz, Richard LaGravenese, the Coen Brothers,
and several others.
Each segment of the feature is located and filmed
at the diverse arrondissements (municipal districts
or boroughs) of the city of Paris.
People of diverse cultures, expressing themselves
through diverse sentiments, dimensions and
narratives, albeit brief, can thus be seen and that is
as much an exploration of the city as of the sensibilities
ensconced therein.
I would recommend the film to all my readers and
to the lovers of pure cinema.
4 comments:
I think what really makes this collage feature so very successful is the fact that a huge number of super-talented people had come together for the project. Not just film directors, but actors and actresses, and technicians too.
They must have all been drawn to the project because of its unique appeal.
Other than the unifying theme of love (sometimes subtle, and sometimes even stifled) for the city of Paris, showcasing the various sections of the city, and the restrictive time span for each segment, the directors have had the opportunity to chip in with their spontaneous outpouring and their individual creative vision.
Hence, we have the shorts of varied genres and sensibilities. The result can surely be summed up as a hugely satisfying experience for us viewers.
"Paris, I Love You" is about plurality of cinema exploring the mythic charm of a city, and it works in doing just that. All the shorts are not necessarily of a superlative quality, and the narratives do not necessarily present an opportunity of intertwining either. However, the viewer is likely to get much more robust and fulfilling takes on the city of Paris and its many hues than he or she is likely to get from a documentary or a docu-feature on the city.
Paris still remains one of the most romantic cities in the world. It is associated with passion, romance and art, and is perhaps the most transcendental of all metros. Though the film "Paris, I Love You" is considered by many as an uneasy amalgam, I loved seeing the works of the celebrated directors from around the world as much as you did. Most of the vignettes were very striking and the actors in them have all exuded a special exuberance.
Paris is a city of light, lovers, art and beauty. And Paris, Je T'aime explores all the sides of the city in in eighteen brief odes to the city of Paris, located in various arrondissements of the city.
I admit that all the films in this total collective presentation do not fit in comfortably, some might stick out for their uniqueness of flavor and treatment, but that was fun for me. I'd say, it has tremendous repeat value.
Paris Je T'aime has almost all conceivable themes: comedy, tragedy, romance, racial tension, sexuality, religion, vampires, sunlit vacations, glamour and even cliches. Who would have imagined the coming together of so many big names, be it the directors or the actors, for a single project? I would add that the concept itself was laudatory.
Of the eighteen films (I believe the original plan was to have two more, which had to be finally left out for length as the prime issue), I loved the segment by Gus Van Sant, Le Marais, the best.... it portrays the anticipation and the romantic tension between the two guys in a sublime manner.
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