Tonight I just saw Paris Je T'aime, a movie comprised of 18 short films shot in the different arrondissements of the city of Paris. The film has received mixed reviews, although I personally thought it was a gorgeous piece of cinema. Not all 18 shorts are impressive though, but a good handful of them are quite outstanding. The Feist song (We're All in the Dance) played at the end credits was lovely.
Incidentally, some of my favourite segments from the movie were also directed by my favourite filmmakers (Tykwer, Payne and Van Sant).
1. Faubourg Saint-Denis by Tom Tykwer. This short blew me away so much that it is still rolling around my head as we speak. I have very deep respect for Tykwer and his genius. I remember back in college I bailed on my niece's (she also happens to be my goddaughter) birthday party to attend a Tom Tykwer Movie Marathon. I ended up watching Run Lola Run, Wintersleepers and The Princess and the Warrior all in a single day, but I did not ever regret it. I have also had the fortune of seeing Heaven which was based on a Kieslowski screenplay and starred Cate Blanchett and Giovanni Ribisi.
Anyway, Tykwer has this to say about this short: "[It] symbolises an entire life for me, in just ten minutes." Natalie Portman turned in a good performance in this one. Up to now I am still pondering what to make of the last scene when the guy goes No, I see you. Yes, a seven-minute film has officially left a dent in me and shook my soul.
2. 14e arrondissement by Alexander Payne. Payne just changed my life last week with Sideways. With this short, he has clearly outdone himself.
The segment is about a middle-aged American lady travelling by herself for the first time in Europe and in her heavily-accented French (she is learning French and reciting this story in her French class), she delivers a soliloquy on Paris and living her life alone. The last scene where she experiences an epiphany whilst sitting on a park bench stirred me in a way no other film has before. It reminded me so much of how I, on countless occasions, also found myself seated on some random public bench overseas whilst munching on a sandwich and contemplating life - alone. The lady's words gripped me:
Sitting there, alone in a foreign country, far from my job and everyone I know, a feeling came over me. It was like remembering something I’d never known before or had always been waiting for, but I didn’t know what. Maybe it was something I’d forgotten or something I’ve been missing all my life. All I can say is that I felt, at the same time, joy and sadness. But not too much sadness, because I felt alive. Yes, alive.
3. Tour Eiffel by French animator Sylvain Chomet. Lighthearted and fun. A young boy talks about how his mime parents met at a prison. The ending is precious.
4. Quais de Seine by Paul Mayeda Berges and Gurinder Chadha. I liked this bit because of its high school charm. There's not much to the short really, but the leads were cute and I've always had a thing for high school-ish romances.
5. Le Marais by Gus Van Sant. Gaspard Ulliel stars in this segment. He tries to convince this taciturn boy that they might be soulmates, but in the end it is revealed that the boy speaks no French and thus did not understand his entire speech.
6. Pere-Lachaise by Wes Craven. Set in a cemetery, the ghost of Oscar Wilde (Alexander Payne in a cameo) appears to Rufus Sewell and gives him advice on how to win back Emily Mortimer.
7. Bastille by Isabel Coixet. A man who is about to leave his wife (Miranda Richardson) for a much younger woman (Leonor Watling) rekindles his love for her after he discovers she is afflicted with a terminal disease. This story is extremely similar to a Facebook story I read recently.
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