Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #651 in DVD
• Released on: 2008-02-04
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Format: PAL
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 115 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Even with the impressive talent involved, Paris, Je T'Aime could've ended up like a fallen soufflé. Though all 18 films aren't equally successful, they hit the mark more often than not. Romantics anticipating happy love stories set amongst the City of Lights may be disappointed to find that many are quite sad and that some parts of Paris are less inviting than others (each takes place in a different district). Further, the shorts aren't all en Français, since the actors and directors hail from around the world, but their outsider perspectives lend the project depth. The strongest entries are provided by Gurinder Chadha (Quais De Seine), Gus Van Sant (Le Marais), Oliver Schmitz (Place des Fêtes), and Alexander Payne (14ème Arrondissement), but all find interesting ways to explore cultural misunderstandings. In Joel and Ethan Coen's tragic-comic Tuileries, tourist Steve Buscemi angers a couple simply by making eye contact. Like Miranda Richardson in Isabelle Coixet's heartbreaking Bastille, he does all his acting with his expressive face. And while Maggie Gyllenhaal speaks the language adroitly in Olivier Assayas's intriguing Quartier des Enfants Rouges, Nick Nolte (purposefully) mangles it in Alfonso Cuarón's surprisingly weak Parc Monceau. The anthology ends with Payne's audio-postcard, in which Margo Martindale's postal carrier narrates her vacation in awkward, but endearing French. Instead of another person, she falls in love with Paris, simply for allowing her to be herself. It's the perfect finish to a poignant repast, like strawberries dipped in chocolate--sweet, but not cloyingly so. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Synopsis
Eighteen different directors and a slew of indie actors come together for Paris, Je T'Aime, a cinematic homage to the City of Light. Each director presents his or her own short story set in a different Parisian quarter, each one featuring a different cast of characters. The pieces vary in length, with some of them striving to tell a fully developed tale--no matter how simple the plot--while others are more abstract, content to rely on sparse dialogue and vivid imagery. With directors such as Gus Van Sant, Alexander Payne, Wes Craven, and the Coen brothers participating, the tales are as varied and oddball as one might expect. Maggie Gyllenhaal plays a lonely actress with a fondness for her hash dealer. Elijah Wood encounters a seductive vampire on a moonlit street. Steve Buscemi is a flustered tourist. Natalie Portman falls for a deaf Frenchmen. Each tale is markedly unique, and specific to the quirky style of its director, and the film is a veritable Who's Who for indie buffs. In the moments when it succeeds, the movie can feel mysterious and magical, evoking the romance and longing the city is famous for.

Customer Reviews

Romantic odes to Paris
I am not usually a fan of short films, but Paris Je T'aime is a surprisingly good collection of *very* short (about five minutes each!) films about life in Paris. There are eighteen films in all, and, predictably enough, some are better than others. Yet the overall quality was very good, and a few were outstanding. Most of them have something to do with romance or love, but other than that the collection is diverse. There is comedy, tragedy and even horror. Most of these films manage to actually tell complete stories in a mere five minutes.

I especially enjoyed Steve Buscemi (in a non-speaking role) as a pathetic tourist who makes the mistake of staring at an arguing couple in a Metro station. Also very good was a tale of vampire love. This one had a very simple plot -female vampire finds male victim, he becomes a vampire too- and no dialogue, but the visuals and facial expressions were great.

I won't list all of the well known actors and directors who participated in this project, but overall I found it much better than I expected. I say this because the concept, along with the title, make it sound like a rather obvious gimmick, but the result here is memorable, original and aesthetically pleasing (except maybe for one featuring mimes!). Highly recommended, especially to lovers of Paris.

pretentious garbage
I cannot believe that other reviewers can take this DVD seriously. This is French pretentious film at its worst - and I say this as a long-time resident in France with a great love of all things French. But surely this is navel-watching of the first order. If you love Paris, just go there and enjoy it; don't try to empathise with these directors who offer long silences, so-called significant looks and sparse dialogue and call it Art. There is little of Paris here at all, but a great deal of French posturing. Leave it alone for the Emperor's New Clothes brigade and find something more satisfyingly enjoyable and accessible.

Lots of Misses but one or two Direct Hits
I'm fascinated by how film conveys a sense of place. I recently did a Soprano's tour in New Jersey, which revealed to me how a camera can enchant a landscape through brilliant storytelling.

So I was drawn to this cinematic exercise centred around Paris. The cast is stellar, as is the directing talent.

They had five minutes to create a story. Several of them are quite pretentious, a handful are boring, and then it picks up towards the end. The last one by Alexander Payne is brilliant, and makes it all worth it. I found Carol's story sad, funny and moving. Natalie Portman exudes great beauty and charm in her slot. Emily Mortimer does a very English cameo in the one based in Pere Lachaise. The Depardieu contribution with Gena Rowlands is a short masterpiece of dialogue. The music at the end is also very charming.

Having watched it, I booked a spring holiday in Paris, and it inspired me to try and write something similar about places I know well in London.