This Movie is Rated R – For Language and Brief Drug Use
This is an interesting project. Basically the movie is comprised of 18 short stories (each one is around 5 minutes long). Each story was written and directed independently of the others. They all take place in different locations throughout Paris and the stories all have something to do with love (be prepared not all of them are happy stories). Some are in French (with English subtitles), some are in English and some are a mixture of both.
Overall I really liked this movie, although I didn’t necessarily like every story. Even the ones that I wasn’t crazy about had glimmers of good in them. So on the first viewing it’s good to watch all of them and then you can just re-watch your favorites.
Following are some of my favorites. Keep in mind that since they’re only 5 minutes long it’s impossible to talk about them without mentioning spoilers (you have been warned):
Le Marais – Written and Directed by Gus Van Sant
Elie (Elias McConnell) works in a printing shop. He is an American and doesn’t speak or understand French very well. Gaspard (Gaspard Ulliel) comes into the shop with a lady that wants a print made of her artwork. While she is talking to the shop owner Gaspard finds himself drawn to Elie. He feels compelled to talk to him. Due to the language barrier it ends up being a very one-sided conversation. Gaspard is romantically interested in Elie; however, Elie isn’t grasping what is being said. By the way Elias had been in another movie by Gus Van Sant “Elephant”.
Quais de Seine – Written by Paul Mayeda Burges and Gurinder Chadha – Directed by Gurinder Chadha
Three young men are hanging out beside the walkway that runs along the river. Two of them keep trying to hit on every young woman that walks by, usually in a very crude manner. The guy that isn’t participating in the annoying behavior, Francois (Cyril Descours) is very uncomfortable with what is happening, especially when he notices that a young woman is watching them and hearing what is being said. When she gets up to leave someone harasses her about the fact that she is wearing a hijab. She becomes distracted, trips on a rock and falls. Francois comes to help her, ends up having a conversation with her and learns more about her culture. He finds that he likes her and would like to spend more time with her.
Tuileries – Written and Directed by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
An American tourist (Steve Buscemi) is sitting on a bench in the metro station. He is looking through his tourist’s guide while he waits. On the other side of the station (across the tracks from him) is a rather amorous couple. When he looks up from his book he inadvertently makes eye contact with them (which his book says you should never do). This leads to an interesting confrontation with the couple. Especially, since he doesn’t have a clue what is being said. Steve does a fantastic job. Even though he doesn’t speak a word throughout the short, you can totally tell what is going through his mind. Another well-known Coen Brothers movie that Steve stars in is “Fargo”.
Loin du 16eme – Written and Directed by Walter Salles and Daniela Thomas
Ana (Catalina Sandino Moreno) is a young single mother. She has to take her baby to a daycare facility in order to go to work to support her child. The baby cries when it’s time for her to leave, so she sings a song to it. Ana then has to take various forms of public transportation to get to the home of her employer, which is far away from where she lives. As it turns out, she is a nanny for a rich woman’s infant. It is so sad that in order to make money to support her own child, she has to spend her whole day with another child instead.
Bastille – Written and Directed by Isabel Coixel
A man (Sergio Castellitto) is waiting in a restaurant for his wife (Miranda Richardson). He has been having an affair with a younger woman and has decided that it’s time to break the news to his wife that he no longer loves her and is leaving her. Before he has the chance to, she breaks down in tears and tells him she has terminal leukemia. He decides “he must rise to the occasion” and take care of her. He breaks it off with his mistress and does everything he can to make what is left of her life wonderful and finds himself falling in love with her all over again. It’s a heartbreaking story.
Quartier de la Madeleine – Written and Directed by Vincenzo Natali
A young tourist (Elijah Wood) is wandering around the streets of Paris late at night. He stumbles across a frightening scene. There are pools of blood leading up to a vampire (Olga Kurylenko) sucking the blood from her victim. The vampire seems interested in the tourist. She comes over and smells him, but doesn’t bite him. He feels an immediate attraction to her and doesn’t want her to leave. He slits one of his wrists with a broken bottle to try to lure her back, but gets dizzy due to lack of blood and falls down the steep stairs behind him. She saves him from imminent death by turning him into a vampire. This story is kind of a strange one, but I like it anyway. It’s visually stunning, very dark and eerie with the only vibrant color being the blood. There is also no dialogue. The storytelling is all down to facial expressions, which Elijah excels at.
Faubourg Saint-Denis – Written and Directed by Tom Tykwer
Thomas is a college student, who also happens to be blind. As he is walking by an apartment building he hears a young woman in distress, Francine (Natalie Portman). After he calls out to her to find out if she’s ok, he finds out that she was rehearsing a scene for an audition. He walks her to the audition, she ends up getting the part and staying in Paris. Thus begins their relationship. The actors were great in this, but I especially enjoyed the way it was shot. At times the characters would be standing still with the rest of Paris speeding around them; it was a very cool look.
14th Arrondissement – Written by Nadine Eid and Alexander Payne and Directed by Alexander Payne
Carol (Margo Martindale) is a letter carrier from Denver, Colorado. She decides to take a trip to Paris and even takes classes beforehand to learn French. Carol tours the city by herself instead of going with a tour group because she wants an adventure. She visits different sites around the city, eventually ending up in a beautiful little park, where she eats her lunch. As she takes in the city and the people around her, she realizes that she has fallen in love with the city and the city has fallen in love with her. For the first time, she really feels alive.
The “At the Heart of Paris Je T’Aime” extra is worth watching. A lot of the directors, writers and cast members take part in it and talk about their experiences during the making of the movie. I found it to be very interesting.
Jan
