New Movie Review
by: Lynn Beavin
Tonight, I'll fall asleep dreaming about the characters in Paris, Je T'Aime (Paris, I Love You in English). The film is a masterful collaboration of twenty shorts about love in Paris by twenty directors. (Think Love Actually with even more subplots like the whipped cream and cherry on top.) These mini-movies are tantalizing; in the span of each five minute short, there is just enough time to fall in love with and develop hopes for each character. Endings feel more like beginnings, and each clip is like a do-it-yourself movie-watch the beginning in theaters and imagine the rest on your own.
Every section of the movie is well acted, featuring many famous actors and actresses such as Juliette Binoche, Gerard Depardieu, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Natalie Portman, Gena Rowlands, and Elijah Wood. The characters are delightful, and the stories have much to teach about life without feeling like one of Aesop's Fables. Stories are broken up by gorgeous shots of Paris and city life. The film is very atmospheric. Paris becomes more than just the backdrop tying all the people together; the city almost seems to be another character on the screen.
One warning, though: this film is not for those who are not on good terms with subtitles. Most of the film was in French, with English being the primary language in only a couple of the shorts. But, don't be deterred by this! One does not have to be taking French XII to enjoy this movie. Go to the theatre, buy some "bonbons," and fall in love with this movie.