Paris, je t'aime (2006)

Through the neighborhoods of Paris, love is veiled, revealed, imitated, sucked dry, reinvented and awakened.

Directors:

Olivier Assayas, Frédéric Auburtin,

Writers:

Emmanuel Benbihy (transitions), Bruno Podalydès (segment),

Stars:

Florence Muller, Leonor Watling, Juliette Binoche

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Florence Muller	...	La jeune femme (segment "Montmartre")
Bruno Podalydès	...	L'automobiliste (segment "Montmartre") (as Bruno Podalydes)
Leïla Bekhti	...	Zarka (segment "Quais de Seine")
Cyril Descours	...	François (segment "Quais de Seine")
Marianne Faithfull	...	Marianne (segment "Le Marais")
Elias McConnell	...	Elie (segment "Le Marais")
Gaspard Ulliel	...	Gaspard (segment "Le Marais")
Steve Buscemi	...	Le touriste (segment "Tuileries")
Julie Bataille	...	Julie (segment "Tuileries")
Axel Kiener	...	Axel (segment "Tuileries")
Catalina Sandino Moreno	...	Ana (segment "Loin du 16e")
Li Xin	...	Madame Li (segment "Porte de Choisy")
Barbet Schroeder	...	Monsieur Henny (segment "Porte de Choisy")
Miranda Richardson	...	La femme au trench rouge (segment "Bastille")
Sergio Castellitto	...	Le mari (segment "Bastille")

Storyline

Paris, je t'aime is about the plurality of cinema in one mythic location: Paris, the City of Love. Twenty filmmakers have five minutes each; the audience must weave a single narrative out of twenty moments. The 20 moments are fused by transitional interstitial sequences and also via the introduction and epilogue. Each transition begins with the last shot of the previous film and ends with the first shot of the following film, extending the enchantment and the emotion of the previous segment, preparing the audience for a surprise, and providing a cohesive atmosphere. There's a reappearing mysterious character who is a witness to the Parisian life. A common theme of Paris and love fuses all.

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Plot Keywords:

love | tourist | restaurant | actress | oscar wilde | 

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Taglines:

Stories of Love. From the City of Love.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and brief drug use

Details

Official Sites:

First Look Studios [us]

Country:

France Liechtenstein Switzerland Germany

Language:

French English Spanish Mandarin Arabic

Release Date:

21 June 2006 (France)

Also Known As:

Paris, I Love You

Filming Locations:

Quartier Latin, Paris 5, Paris, France

Box Office

Budget:

$13,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$39,242 (USA) (4 May 2007)

Gross:

$4,857,376 (USA) (3 August 2007)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Victoires International, Pirol Stiftung, Filmazure

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The original intention of the film was to represent each of the 20 arrondissements of Paris but this idea was abandoned together with filmed segments by directors Christoffer Boe and Raphaël Nadjari.

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Goofs

In the segment 'Père-Lachaise,' when William (Rufus Sewell) confronts Frances (Emily Mortimer), his coat is buttoned to the neck. The camera cuts to Frances, and back to William, his coat now open. The next time William appears, his coat is buttoned-up again. William (apparently) hasn't moved at all.

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Quotes

Carol: Sitting there, alone in a foreign country, far from my job and everyone I know, a feeling came over me. It was like remembering something I'd never known before or had always been waiting for, but I didn't know what. Maybe it was something I'd forgotten or something I've been missing all my life. All I can say is that I felt, at the same time, joy and sadness. But not too much sadness, because I felt alive. Yes, alive. That was the moment I fell in love with Paris. And I felt Paris fall in love...

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Connections

References Damnation (1988)

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Soundtracks

"True Façade"
Written by Tom Tykwer, Johnny Klimek and Reinhold Heil
Segment "Faubourg Saint-Denis"

User Reviews

" Lovers of ... love "

Rudyard Kipling once wrote that God gave to all people the ability to love the whole world, but given that a human heart is very small in size, every human has that special place that he loves more than any other. It seems to me that this may have been the motto of some of the most eminent directors of today when they set out to profess the eternal love for that special place and depict situations in the lives of its denizens and visitors. The result is a wonderful collection of short films, Paris je t'aime, in which our guides, Van Sant, Coixet, Cuaron, Payne and others take us on a breathtaking stroll through Parisian arrondissements, human feelings, yearnings and expectations.

Always some other quarter, always some utterly moving story about ordinary people in search for love, be it in a parking lot, art studio, tube station. And Paris je t'aime is about vast array of loves- love for one's partner, child, parent, for those who meant the world to us but are no longer around, love that needs rekindling, serendipitous love for that stranger as your eyes meet, or love that just is not meant to be...today, but tomorrow- who knows?

Nevertheless, this film is not solely about love, but life itself, joy, pain, loneliness, confusion, everyday ups and downs. And its most important quality is the fact that it is not soppy at all, but rather warm and full of hope.

I give this film a 9 because the final section of it suggests how some of the stories might further develop, but not all of them and that is the thing that I find missing, and by "further development" I do not mean some specific reference to the characters' future. As far as everything else is concerned I can only say- captivating. Makes you want to leave everything behind you, flee to Paris and live those little romances yourself.