"Paris, je t'aime" (2006)

November 9, 11:48 AMInternational Film ExaminerJen Westmoreland Bouchard

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Don’t have time to make it to Paris this year? That’s OK, you can begin to satisfy your wanderlust by renting one of the most enjoyable films to come out of France in the past five years. Not only is “Paris, je t’aime” highly entertaining, it also takes the viewer on a tour of eighteen of the city’s twenty arrondissements (neighborhoods).

(”Paris, I love you”) is a 2006 collection of short films about love, and each film examines a different sort of love in the City of Lights (romantic, platonic, friendship, parental). The overall film and the transitions between shorts were conceptualized and written by Tristan Carné and Emmanuel Benbihy; Olivier Assayas and Frédéric Auburtin oversaw the directorial aspects of the project.

The shorts feature a slew of famous international actors, including Marianne Faithfull, Steve Buscemi, Bob Hoskins, Fanny Ardant, Juliette Binoche, Emily Mortimer, Elijah Wood, Willem Dafoe, Rufus Sewell, Gena Rowlands, and Natalie Portman. Each short is written and/or directed by a different international director- Gurinder Chadha, Sylvain Chomet, Joel and Ethan Coen, Gerard Depardieu, Wes Craven, Alfonso Cuarón, Alexander Payne, and Gus Van Sant- to name a few. The film came out in France in 2006 and then in the U.S. in 2007.

The 18 arrondissements you’ll visit in “Paris, je t’aime” are:

Montmartre (XVIIIe arrondissement)
Quais de Seine (Ve arrondissement)
Le Marais (IVe arrondissement)
Tuileries (Ier arrondissement)
Loin du 16e (XVIe arrondissement; literally: “far from the 16th”)
Porte de Choisy (XIIIe arrondissement)
Bastille (XIIe arrondissement)
Place des Victoires (IIe arrondissement)
Tour Eiffel (VIIe arrondissement)
Parc Monceau (XVIIe arrondissement)
Quartier des Enfants Rouges (IIIe arrondissement)
Place des fêtes (XIXe arrondissement)
Pigalle (IXe arrondissement)
Quartier de la Madeleine (VIIIe arrondissement)
Père-Lachaise (XXe arrondissement)
Faubourg Saint-Denis (Xe arrondissement)
Quartier Latin (VIe arrondissement)
14e arrondissement (XIVe arrondissement)

The short films range from funny to melancholy and are, for the most part, quite thought-provoking. After viewing just a few minutes of each love story, you’ll find yourself wanting more. It’s amazing how attached one can become to a character in the course of five to eight minutes. Of course, the scenery and cultural tidbits are also completely engaging, and reflect the diversity of Paris.

I especially appreciate the three shorts that deal with the realities of immigrants living in Paris, as well as some of the grittier shorts about lost love. Above all, I enjoy the way in which each short reflects the flavor and character of the arrondissement in which it was filmed – it’s evident that these directors did their homework. Upon second thought, perhaps this isn’t the film to watch to satisfy your wanderlust- after viewing “Paris, je t’aime,” my desire to hop on a plane to the City of Lights typically becomes even stronger.

Originally published at www.europeupclose.com