What I Watched -- Paris, Je T'aime

Geez, I had a championship movie-watching weekend, didn't I? I sort of stumbled my way to Paris, Je T'aime on accident, but I'm glad I did. I had read a review of a movie with "Paris" in the title; I couldn't remember the full name, so I took a random stab in the dark. The first movie I came up with compliments of the St. Louis County Library was From Paris With Love. Definitely not what I was looking for; I didn't even watch it. The next flick I found was this one. I'm pretty sure it wasn't actually the one I was on the hunt for, but it looked interesting, so I gave it a shot.

The idea behind this movie, if you can even call it that, is interesting. It is a collection of "postcard" views of Paris, probably about 20 of them, little short films about people falling in love, falling out of love, looking for love, finding love, losing love...you get the picture. It's a little bit disjointed, but there is a really sweet scene at the end that ties a couple of things together. Not Love Actually-type total inter-linkage of characters, but just a little connection, which leaves you with the sense that no one is really alone.

Because of the "fiction shorts" style of the film, it's great for watching one or two stories in the morning while you're having your cereal, or when you're reading to leave 10 minutes before you need to go. I watched the first 10 or 12 stories all in a row, then split up some of the later ones into smaller snippets. Each of the stories has a totally different feel, because each was written and directed by someone different. Credits include the following famous dudes:
Joel and Ethan Cohen: Fargo, No Country For Old Men, The Big Lebowski;
Gus Van Sant: Good Will Hunting, Milk, Finding Forrester;
Gérard Depardieu: Green Card and more other movies than I can list here (188, according to imdb!, most of them French;
Wes Craven: known mostly for horror movies, of which I am not a fan, but I loved his short for this movie!;
Alfonoso Cuarón: long, unprolific, but varied career includes The Little Princess, Children of Men, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and Y Tu Mama Tambien.


The movie has a fantastic ensemble cast, including but not limited to the following: Juliette Binoche, Gérard Depardieu, Nick Nolte, Natalie Portman, Rufus Sewell (whom I have loved ever since Dangerous Beauty), Elijah Wood, Miranda Richardson, Bob Hoskins, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Emily Mortimer, (whom I like although I don't know why, since I think I've seen only one of her movies: Lars and the Real Girl), Willem Dafoe (whom I have loved ever since I noticed how well he can play creepy characters), and Steve Buscemi, among others. Seriously, the cast is out of control.

Bottom line: a little odd, but a lot fascinating. The theme of every story is love in some form, but each one is so different that it doesn't feel repetitive or overdone at all. It isn't all romantic love (though most of it is), and even the stuff that is isn't sticky sweet, so it's okay to watch no matter what stage of a relationship you find yourself in. Bonus: if you're experiencing a little bit of cabin fever, you will be transported, TSA-free, to Paris for 120 minutes!