Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Kate Hudson | ... | Isabel Walker | |
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Jean-Marie Lhomme | ... | Immigration Officer |
Naomi Watts | ... | Roxeanne de Persand | |
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Esmée Buchet-Deàk | ... | Gennie de Persand |
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Jean-Jacques Pivert | ... | Talkative Shopkeeper |
Melvil Poupaud | ... | Charles-Henri de Persand | |
Catherine Samie | ... | Madame Florian | |
Samuel Labarthe | ... | Antoine de Persand | |
Leslie Caron | ... | Suzanne de Persand | |
Thierry Lhermitte | ... | Edgar Cosset | |
Nathalie Richard | ... | Charlotte de Persand | |
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Samuel Gruen | ... | de Persand Child |
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Peter Wyckoff | ... | de Persand Child |
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Sandrel Lonnoy | ... | Maid |
Glenn Close | ... | Olivia Pace |
The differences in legalities and cultural mores of French and Americans regarding sex, love, marriage, religion and family bonds are presented through the interactions of two families related by marriage. American Isabel Walker heads to Paris to visit her half-sister, poet Roxeanne de Persand, who is early in the pregnancy of her second child. Isabel arrives to find that Roxy's French husband, Charles-Henri de Persand, has just left Roxy, the sisters both eventually further learning that it is because he has fallen in love with another woman, who is herself married. Roxy and Charles-Henri deal with their break-up, which Roxy does not want but must face the legal consequences of, including determining the ownership of what may be a valuable French painting that has been casually in the Walker family for years, but which Roxy has had in her possession since she got married. Meanwhile, Isabel begins to explore all that France has to offer, which includes concurrently embarking on sexual... Written by Huggo
James Ivory is not exactly a politically orientated film maker, but it took some courage, and it was a politic message releasing a film about Americans living in Paris, and the culture clash between American and French in 2003. Although his film is more about family relations and cultural perception, it says a lot about humans being more important in the relations between two nations than their leaders politics.
Not that the relations in the film are that soft. I know quite well both American and French mentalities, and I appreciate the ironic mirror this film puts in the faces of the two peoples. There is certainly a certain dose of stereotype in the approach, but still the characters are well built, they act with logic most of the time, and some good acting from a bi-lingual team
helps a lot. Paris is still the best location to pick for a film ever. The plot is a little bit too long, and the end suffers from hollywooditis, but overall it is a satisfying cinema experience. I do not like the romantic genre too much, but it was better than I expected. 7 out of 10 on my personal scale.