Lauren RabainoOnce upon a time in a land of love and romance and carelessness, a film was born from the wildly profound imaginative depths of 18 of the most internationally acclaimed directors of our age. From Wes Craven to Gus Van Sant, the Coen brothers to Alfonso Cuaron, this beautiful bundle of joy is well worth five bucks and a trip to the Palm.
What to look for? The marquee reads, “Paris, je t’aime,” or “Paris, I love you.” And let me tell you, I think I fell in love with the City of Light all over again while watching this film.
With only a short window of time for each director to tell their tale, each of these 18 reputable artists uniquely sprinkled their own Parisian love story throughout each district, or “arrondissement” of Paris’ beautiful cityscape.
Oui, there are the obligatory stories of first-attraction love, resurfacing of old flames, and passionate, one-time encounters, all being extremely appropriate set in the City of Love itself; but as love sometimes is, there are also stories of pain and loss of unimaginable quality.
From Juliet Binoche suffering from the loss of her son to Fanny Ardant and Bob Hoskins trying to rekindle a spark in their relationship by dabbling in prostitution, this international cast of actors does a magical job in capturing the vigor and incredible sincerity of not only Paris, but of relationships in general.
Although, I must admit this film follows somewhat of a dysfunctional recipe for success, and I daresay some folks will indeed find it dissatisfying to sit through two hours of vignette after vignette in which huge cinematic risks are taken, but a success is exactly what it is.
Not in a terribly long time have I been able to emphatically say that I enjoyed a film from start to finish, opening sequence to credit roll. And that is exactly what I am saying with this film.
Was it that one particularly beautiful San Luis Obispo Sunday afternoon that I went to go see it, an afternoon complete with fine dining and fantastic friends? Was it my mood, or the gloriously fantastic writing of each story? Whatever the “raison d’ˆtre,” this film is definitely two thumbs way up.
“Paris, je t’aime” is a refreshing movie with undisputable character and charm, and I would urge anyone who enjoys going foreign from time to time to go out and take a chance by devouring this delicious morsel of a movie.
It truly is not only a refreshing cinematic gem, but it takes us, its audience, on a fantastic voyage through the hearts and minds of lovers all over the globe.
As the French say, “Le prix d’amour, c’est seulement amour. Il faut aimer si l’on veut ˆtre aim‚.” The price of love, is simply love… one must love if one wants to be loved.
And that’s the bottom line.
Alexandra Bezdikian is a journalism senior with a knack for critiquing pop culture trends.