Review: Paris, I love You

Paris Je T'aime

Immediate note to self: Darn. Can I fly to Paris tomorrow? *dryly*

Yours truly went to catch a film yesterday despite the rain and the fact that Orchard road was closed for Chingay Rehearsal. And fortunately, it was worth the effort.

It was a film that yours truly felt, was rightly named as Paris, Je T’Aime (aka Paris, I love you).

A collage of short films by known directors on the topic of - what else from the capital of lovers – love. What made the film enjoyable was the fact that love can be shown and seen in many different ways. Many different people with many different cultures in the many different districts of Paris.

It showcases the works of numerous directors and cast, who really, are filming this out of goodwill. After all, given the number of directors and cast involved, common sense alone would tell you how little each member must be paid. In fact, yours truly read that they are all paid the same wages from the highest to the lowest member of the production, more like a token of appreciation rather than paid work. I guess it highlights how proud the French are of their capital and how many people around the world are entranced by Paris?

The spirit of the film focused on a specific moment of love and given the numerous directors involved, it was rightly a multi-faceted interpretation of love. This is the point when yours truly have to salute the director that put everything together, because the pace, the rhythm of the stories and cohesiveness was unexpected. Yours truly was prepared to like the various stories as it was shown, but I expected a slightly more “patchwork” feel when different pieces are randomly put together. What I was not expecting was a certain central rhythm and of course, the underlying fondness for Paris.

The result was a quaint look at Paris and at love through a kaleidoscope of stories that touches on the search for love, the finding of and the losing of love. It started off with a Frenchman looking through the windows of his car at all the couples and wondering why everyone is attached but him, perhaps like the way we are looking at him, and perhaps, just perhaps, also wondering the same? His segment ended with him meeting someone. The film went on to the other aspects of love but the final short film ended with an American woman going to Paris on her own. She is not looking for love. Instead, she fell in love with Paris. At her age, she concedes that romantic love might not be for her, but she accepts it with grace and optimism. There are other things in life other than romantic love. A nice touch.

Of course, an even nicer symmetry to the opening story of the Frenchman. So the whole film had a certain symmetry and tempo. It is like a spiral that unwind yet end on the starting point with a twist.

For a film on love, yours truly understands why it was largely based on our generation’s obsession on romantic love, but some short films in the collage touched on other types of love such as a mother’s love for her child, which serves to make the idea of love more encompassing. I like.

Of course, this is not to say that the film was perfect or to mislead you into thinking that the threading of all segments was logical and seamless. That in itself is an impossible task. After all, the number of celebrated directors and stellar cast listed in the credits alone reflects the magnitude of the production. But it was a credible attempt to blend the short segments filmed by celebrated directors such as Wes Craven, the Coen Brothers, Gus Van Sant, Gurinder Chadha, Walter Salles, Alexander Payne and Olivier Assayas into a whole. And for that, even if some segments or stories seem rather….for lack of a better word, uninspiring to yours truly, it was still enjoyable as a whole.

Yours truly particularly liked the poignant story on an unfaithful husband who took care of his terminally sick wife and fell in love with her all over again; the humorous/witty story of the young engaged couple visiting Oscar Wilde’s grave; the quaint and somewhat fiery story of an aging couple who attempts role playing to ignite dying passion and of course, the witty yet somewhat bittersweet story at a divorced old couple who are both “cradle snatchers” since they are dating/marrying man/woman much younger than themselves.

In gist, fly to Paris, failing which, at least watch the film. *laconic*

Sheer