Paris, je t'aime (2006)

Directors:

Olivier Assayas
Frédéric Auburtin

Writers:

Tristan Carné (idea)
Emmanuel Benbihy (feature film concept and transitions)

Release Date:

21 June 2006 (France)

Genre:

Romance

Tagline:

Stories of Love. From the City of Love.

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Love | Tourist | Actress | Blind | Subway

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Florence Muller	...	Young Woman (segment "Montmartre")
Hervé Pierre	...	Doctor (segment "Montmartre")
Bruno Podalydès	...	Driver (segment "Montmartre")
Leïla Bekhti	...	Zarka (segment "Quais de Seine")
Julien Beramis	...	Arnaud (segment "Quais de Seine")
Cyril Descours	...	François (segment "Quais de Seine")
Thomas Dumerchez	...	Manu (segment "Quais de Seine")
Daniely Francisque	...	Black Girl #1 (segment "Quais de Seine")
Audrey Fricot	...	Black Girl #2 (segment "Quais de Seine")
Salah Teskouk	...	Zarka's Grandfather (segment "Quais de Seine")
Christian Bramsen	...	Printer (segment "Le Marais")
Marianne Faithfull	...	Marianne (segment "Le Marais")
Elias McConnell	...	Elie (segment "Le Marais")
Gaspard Ulliel	...	Gaspard (segment "Le Marais")
Julie Bataille	...	Julie (segment "Tuileries")

Also Known As:

Paris, I Love You (Hong Kong: English title) (International: English title)
Paris, je t'aime (UK) (USA)

MPAA:

Rated R for language and brief drug use.

Runtime:

120 min

Country:

France | Liechtenstein | Switzerland

Language:

English | French | Spanish | Arabic | Mandarin

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Finland:K-11 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Portugal:M/12 | Hong Kong:IIA | Netherlands:12 | Sweden:11 | USA:R | Singapore:NC-16 | Argentina:13 | Germany:6 | UK:15 | Ireland:15A | Brazil:16 | South Korea:15 | Australia:MA | Malaysia:U

Filming Locations:

Grave of Oscar Wilde, Père Lachaise - 65 Boulevard de Ménilmontant, Paris 20, Paris, France

Company:

Victoires International

Trivia:

The segment "Parc Monceau" directed by Alfonso Cuarón was shot in a single continuous shot.

Goofs:

Continuity: 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.

Quotes:

Gaspard: [in French] Haven't we met? I'm sure I know you. Where do you live? I'm in the 17th. Maybe I've seen you around. You don't talk much. I'm not sure, but... I feel like I've seen you before. You look like a mystical guy. Really, you have a very special aura. You believe in spirits? I'm way into that stuff. Maybe we met in a past lifetime.
Elie: [in French] Light?
Gaspard: [in French] A light.
[lights his cigarette]
Elie: Merci.
Gaspard: It's amazing. As soon as I saw you, I needed to talk. It's like... I don't know. A strong, weird feeling. I thought, if I don't talk to you before I go, I'd be missing out on... something... important. Beautiful. You work in a beautiful place. I didn't want to miss the chance to talk to you. It's dumb, but... Never mind. May I?
[sits down]
Gaspard: You believe in soul mates? Finding your other half? You like jazz? Charlie Parker... and Kurt Cobain. I love him! Whatever. Here's my number. I'd really like to talk with you, if you call me, more seriously and... for longer, especially.
[leaves]
Printer: [in French] What's up?
[...]

Movie Connections:

References Diarios de motocicleta (2004)

Soundtrack:

Katoucha

Wonderful love declaration to a beautiful capital

I watched this movie a couple of days ago in a small independent cinema in Paris. It was my last evening in the French capital and the best good-bye I could have chosen. These twenty episodes made me relive the impressions I had collected in Paris in a heart-warming manner without drifting off into kitsch or sentimental schmaltz. Each episode is full of surprise, strong emotions and suggestive pictures and each short-film is directed according to the rules of a good short story. To me this kind of movie demands a lot more talent and qualities of a director and a story board writer than any epic two hours drama and all of them succeeded in their task excellently! The stories were chosen carefully with regard to their matching Arrondissement and express the respective flair perfectly. Each episode was seen from a different ankle, had a different topic, a different style and still the twenty stories result in a harmonic orchestra of films. The most outstanding advantage with the concept of an episode movie in my opinion is based in the fact that you can switch in between a large variety of feelings and moods without the danger of overload, just the other way round: the melange of sadness, melancholy, pure joy, despair, wrath, anxiety, curiosity or passion gives this movie a unique freshness and harmony. And not to forget the all over topic of love! Love between the characters, love between the characters and Paris and also the love of the directors and actors/actresses for this project. I don't want to go into the details of the episodes since there are so many, but I must highlight the range of world famous actors and actresses from all over the world and their approach to this project. Some played with their image, some broke it completely and some interpreted the stereotypes connected with their home country or the roles they had played before, so intertextuality was given all through the movie. All in all I can absolutely recommend this great collage and will be looking forward to its release on DVD.