User reviews

Although I live in Minnesota, I have been studying in France lately and came across this bizarre gem of a film.

This movie was amazing, to say the least. A creative and unique film, the different directors each lent something different to their interpretation of love in the City of Light. The first instinct is to attempt to fit each one of these little stories into an overall storyline, much as can be done with 2003's Love Actually. This attempt, however, renders the magic of each individual segment obsolete. When taken at face value, with each of the short segments taken as its own individual film, the love stories together tell a beautiful message.

The film is strikingly bizarre at times -- often to the point of confusion -- and each individual segment can be hard to follow. Still, to a watcher who pays close attention to each of the segments, the short plot lines become clear after a short time. The confusion is almost intriguing; it keeps you on the edge of your seat waiting for what will come next. It leaves the viewer wondering "Did that really just happen?" yet also leaves them satisfied that it did, indeed, occur. It's the kind of movie where the viewer, upon leaving the theater, can't actually decide whether they loved it or they hated it. The initial reaction is to go and watch it again and again, just to see these individual lives blend together into a cinematic masterpiece.

The interesting decision to make the movie multilingual adds something to the spectrum of people who can relate. It adds to the reality of the film -- here, the American tourists speak English, the Parisians French, and so on. The number of people that the film encompasses leads to an understanding of the international language of love.

From sickness to the supernatural, the love of parents to the love of husbands, this film covers all the bases of romantic storytelling. In its beautiful and quirky way, each unique event somehow falls into place to tell a story: that of all types, sizes, nationalities, and shapes of love.

Wasn't sure what to expect from this movie considering its amazing collection of stars and directors but in the end it didn't disappoint.

For me one of the highlights was the final episode with the American tourist speaking with a dreadful French accent (which made me feel better about mine) which was actually quite touching and a great way to wrap up the movie.

The story of the paramedic and the stabbing victim was also very moving and for pure comedy the Coen Brothers and Steve Buscemi take the award. The Tom Tykwer clip was also impressive although rather ambitious in its scope.

However, the Bob Hoskins segment was totally cringeworthy and the vampire story was completely farcical. The dialogue in Wes Craven's section also felt very forced and the Chinatown story was completely incomprehensible.

On the whole this film is worth watching for the good bits and has a strong finish. It's not too painful to sit through the bad sections - they only last 5 minutes anyway.

Ca vaut la peine!!!

I was lucky enough to attend a screening in Stockholm for this elegantly expressed, enjoyable, and thought-provoking film. With romance as the heaviest weapon in its arsenal, Paris je t'aime boldly plunges into love in Paris, navigating the different forms in eighteen separate "quartiers" but without pouting Parisiennes and saccharine formulas. Its goldmine undoubtedly stems from frustration on the directors' parts – frustration over only having 5-10 minutes of screen time – thereby you are only presented with the best and most assured direction from each party.

Debating whether or not I should review all 18 segments, I reached the conclusion that it would be merely redundant and long-winded. Instead simply rest assured that each director graces the film with their eccentric styles and skills, and certainly you'll find your favourite. Although Gus Van Sant cannot resist the temptation to be introspective, his LES MARAIS is one of the better contributions, even sneaking in a well-placed Kurt Cobain reference. The Coen brothers recreate one of the more accessible segments in Paris, a scene with a muted but emotionally transparent Steve Buscemi, deadpan humour and clever camera angles that surely generated the most laughter in my theatre, and perhaps rightly so.

In this way, all story lines are exquisitely unique – filtered through the minds of different directors – but the one that deviates the most from the rest is Vincenzo Natali's QUARTIER DE LA MADELEINE, a dark horror-Gothic love starring Elijah Wood as a lost tourist in the backstreets of Paris in the night who meets a vampiress. With a black-and-white format but blood-red colour contrast that seems to incongruously bleed off screen, it nearly becomes a pastiche of Sin City – a refreshing eerie and visual turn in an otherwise fairly grounded film.

Yet my single favourite segment was FAUBOURG SAINT-DENIS by Tom Tykwer but I think I was conditioned to think so, given that I went in the theatre with him as my favourite and nudged my friend in the side saying "finally, that's my favourite director here". Nevertheless, it cannot be denied that Tykwer delivers a lovely segment in which a blind boy picks up the phone, and hears from his girlfriend (Portman - for once not annoying) that she breaks up with him, and he reflects on their relationship. As is Tywker's style, the story is dizzyingly fast-paced, kinetic and repetitive, featuring screaming and running (Lola Rennt) making it the most adrenaline-pumping segment in Paris je t'aime and possibly also the most touching once Tywker starts wielding his most powerful tool – music.

To fill the negative account, clearly not all directors manage as touching as Tywker, Van Sant, Cohens, Coixet and Dépardieu. Sylvain Chomet scrapes the bottom of the pile by carving out a truly disposable segment in which a little boy retells the story of how his parents met. They are two lonely mimes. This part is so in-your-face French and desperately quirky that it is insulting to international viewers. Suwa also directs a poor and fluffy segment with an unusually haggard-looking Juliette Binoche whom mourns the loss of her son. Nothing else happens. Finally, the wrap-up and interweaving of the 18 stories in the end feels somewhat rushed and half-hearted.

Yet Paris je t'aime truly spoils you with quality, for all the other stories are well-crafted with crisp acting and amusing writing. It is certainly one of the highlights of 2006 (not saying much, I suppose) and a very personal film in the sense that it is unavoidable to pick a favourite and a least favourite. Highly recommended both to mainstream of "pretentious" (heh) audiences.

8 out 10

Greetings again from the darkness. 18 directors of 18 seemingly unrelated vignettes about love in the city of lights. A very unusual format that takes a couple of segments to adjust to as a viewer. We are so accustomed to character development over a 2 hour movie, it is a bit disarming for that to occur in an 8 minute segment.

The idea is 18 love/relationship stories in 18 different neighborhoods of this magnificent city. Of course, some stand up better than others and some go for comedy, while others focus on dramatic emotion. Some very known directors are involved, including: The Coen Brothers, Wes Craven, Alfonso Cuaron, Alexander Payne, Gus Van Sant and Gurinda Chadha. Many familiar faces make appearances as well: Steve Buscemi, Barbet Schroeder, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Ben Gazzara, Gena Rowlands, Gerard Depardieu, Juliette Binoche, Willem Dafoe, Nick Nolte, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Marianne Faithful, and Bob Hoskins.

One of the best segments involves a mime, and then another mime and the nerdy, yet happy young son of the two mimes. Also playing key roles are a red trench coat, cancer, divorce, sexual fantasy, the death of a child and many other topics. Don't miss Alexander Payne (director of "Sideways") as Oscar Wilde.

The diversity of the segments make this interesting to watch, but as a film, it cannot be termed great. Still it is very watchable and a nice change of pace for the frequent movie goer.

The whole does not even come close to the sum of the parts. No problem. This film features a line-up of some of the most diversely creative directors of our time and some really famous names in the cast. The segments are devised around the same theme, "Love in Paris", but the resemblance ends there. Actually, considering that the approach to the theme from all these different directors takes so many forms, it is amazing that we can even feel we are still watching the same film. No great effort has been made to turn it into a comprehensive whole. This buffet has so many great ingredients, I am glad nobody tried to put them all in a single dish.

Sadly, this is an awful grab bag of mostly trivial stories. Certainly it is ambitious and interesting as a concept, and Paris looks beautiful, but the producers didn't rein in the directors and what appears winning in theory becomes a lazy mishmash in execution. Each director was given five minutes of screen time and two days to shoot their film. Almost all of the directors figured they could dispense with writers and do it themselves. A bit of ego, a bit of film school, and a misunderstanding that even five minutes of screen time requires a writer's hand, especially so since the short time frame demands concise story telling skills.

Indeed, some of these film makers, e.g. Christopher Doyle, have barely sat in a director's chair, much less be worth trumpeting as members of an extraordinary group of visionaries. And the concept involves love stories and the love for Paris. What connection is there with this concept and the filmography of Joel and Ethan Coen? In fact the heavy American and British presence seems more mercenary than visionary from the producing end of things. Ben Gazzara and Gena Rowlands playing two Americans finalizing their divorce in a restaurant could have been filmed in New York or Chicago and shipped over to France for attachment to the movie. Worse, this episode relegates a giant of French cinema, Gerard Depardieu, to the minuscule part of the restaurant owner. There's nothing wrong with having some stories about tourists and expatriates, but this collection relies far too much on it. The bulk of the Parisians in this film are relegated to background chatter and bit parts. Surprisingly, even the city is relegated to background fodder. It appears that almost none of the film makers have any sense of Paris, or what to do with it given the opportunity to make a small film there. Many take place in nondescript indoor locations, or in the case of the Elijah Wood episode, a meaningless dark street straight out of 'Sin City.' Story wise, this is a director's film. Therefore the writing is weak and in some cases almost non-existent. In the case of Cuaron's episode with Nick Nolte, even the direction is non-existent (almost entirely a long shot track of Nolte yakking away to his nubile daughter as they walk down a street -- once again, a heavy American element with no trace of Paris except some dialogue). Some of the vignettes have "punchlines", while others merely fade away or end pointless and lost. The two most "commercial" feature Steve Buscemi in a cartoonish skit in a Metro station, and an absurd tryst between Elijah Wood and a vampiress. Both stand out but for the wrong reasons. Buscemi is forced to say nothing throughout his episode, and to behave like a punching bag for no reason. At least it IS snappily directed, and makes its point and ends with an exclamation. But it's also more clichéd American-in-Paris tourism. The Wood vampiress story not only doesn't belong in this film, it is also extremely predictable as a vampire sketch.

Many of the other stories seem either a small part of a bigger film, or a made-up hodgepodge to fill five minutes. To each his own as to the merits of the results. Certainly this smörgåsbord provides enough promise in its theme to delight those who think they're getting a taste of Paris along with humanistic stories (rather than the usual gangster, spy, or sleaze films using the city for its location). But I think the producers should have demanded that the directors adhere to the concept rather than allow them free rein to indulge in half-thought out skits that have only an arbitrary connection to the locations of the title city.

I watched this movie a couple of days ago in a small independent cinema in Paris. It was my last evening in the French capital and the best good-bye I could have chosen. These twenty episodes made me relive the impressions I had collected in Paris in a heart-warming manner without drifting off into kitsch or sentimental schmaltz. Each episode is full of surprise, strong emotions and suggestive pictures and each short-film is directed according to the rules of a good short story. To me this kind of movie demands a lot more talent and qualities of a director and a story board writer than any epic two hours drama and all of them succeeded in their task excellently! The stories were chosen carefully with regard to their matching Arrondissement and express the respective flair perfectly. Each episode was seen from a different ankle, had a different topic, a different style and still the twenty stories result in a harmonic orchestra of films. The most outstanding advantage with the concept of an episode movie in my opinion is based in the fact that you can switch in between a large variety of feelings and moods without the danger of overload, just the other way round: the melange of sadness, melancholy, pure joy, despair, wrath, anxiety, curiosity or passion gives this movie a unique freshness and harmony. And not to forget the all over topic of love! Love between the characters, love between the characters and Paris and also the love of the directors and actors/actresses for this project. I don't want to go into the details of the episodes since there are so many, but I must highlight the range of world famous actors and actresses from all over the world and their approach to this project. Some played with their image, some broke it completely and some interpreted the stereotypes connected with their home country or the roles they had played before, so intertextuality was given all through the movie. All in all I can absolutely recommend this great collage and will be looking forward to its release on DVD.

Paris, I love you I read about this movie and was very eager to see it, but due to odd timings – I could not see it for nearly 2 weeks. I was eager to see this movie because – I got to know that the format of the movie was new, it had 18 movies of about 5 to 9 minutes to depict the feeling of LOVE – in Paris. This movie, the story and the format could have been set up in any international city – Tokyo, New York or Bombay.

All the stories depict one emotion – love. The idea was to invite some of the best directors from around the world and ask them to make a 5 minute movie in Paris showing love.

To begin with - not all the directors chosen are world class and nor all the stories are good. But the idea and effort is commendable. It is difficult to remember all the stories at the end of the movie but I will try to do some justice by mentioning those I can recall.

There are a few very good stories – I found a black nurse caring for a stabbed black men, the most touching story. There was another story of a young French boy getting attracted to a Muslim girl and sitting in front of a mosque for her to come out, was poignant. The story of a lady tourist in Paris (this was the last story of the movie) – being alone and with oneself was also a good. Another story of an old divorce couple meeting after several years in a Paris restaurant discussing their pending legal issues was amusing as well as sad, at one point in that story we feel that there might be a possibility for the couple to get together – and they present the option too. The fantasy story of love in the dark streets of Paris between a ghost lady vampire and her latest victim is also interesting. The story by Cohen brothers had their typical trademark stamp of small amount of anger and humor dished out with love – it was about a tourist on a railway platform trying to make out Paris through what he reads in his Paris tour guide and ends up being badly beaten by a lover boy, and teased by a small kid. There were several un-impressing stories of drug addict, a joker, one involving cemetery of Oscar Wilde, a man caring for a lady who becomes unconscious in front of his car and an old man taking care of a kid –even though these stories are told with genuine intent were not engaging enough.

Paris is captured beautifully, in day shots – night shots and high camera shots. The dark lanes, the crowded roads, the People are canvassed graphically.

Just a trivia – when I entered the hall, I was the first person inside the hall, but found strangely 3 kids of around age 7, 9, and 12 years sitting waiting for the movie to start. I was wondering at their interest in such movie, and thought that may be they wanted to see another children's movie and by mistake ended up in this cinema hall. But seeing their free gimmicking and laughing behavior I understood that was not the case, they had just come to enjoy some movie. I think they did not know the format of this movie and that is why could not understand any head or tail of what is going on and walked off the hall before the fifth story was rolled out.

I would surely appreciate and would like to see similar efforts being drawn from other regions – would be really interesting to see what type of fare directors dish out from Hollywood – for New York, Bollywood for Bombay. Just a speculative idea! I am giving this movie an extra star for its format.

People who love to see experimental cinema – should go and watch it.

(6 Stars)

Just saw this tonight at a seminar on digital projection (shot on 35mm, and first feature film fully scanned in 6k mastered in 4k, and projected with 2k projector at ETC/USC theater in Hwd)..so much for tech stuff. 18 directors (including Alexander Payne, Wes Cravens, Joel and Ethan Coen, Gus Van Sant, Walter Salles and Gerard Depardieu, among several good French/ international directors) were each given 5 minutes to make a love story. They come in all shapes and forms, with known actors(Elijah Wood, Natalie Portman, Steve Buscemi ..totally hilarious..., Maggie Glyllenhall, Nick Nolte, Geena Rowlands ..soo good..and she actually wrote the piece she was in, Msr Depardieu and many good international actors as well. The stories vary from all out romance to quirky comedy to Alex Payne's touching study of a woman discovering herself to Van Sant and one of those things that happens anywhere..maybe? Nothing really off putting by having French spoken in most sequences (with English subtitles) and a small amount of actual English spoken, though that will probably relegate it to art houses (a la Diva.) Also only one piece that might be considered "experimental" but colorful and funny as well, the rest simple studies of sometimes complex relationships. All easy to follow (unless the "experimental" one irritates your desire for a formulaic story. Several brought up some emotions for me...I admit I am affected by love in cinema...when it is presented in something other than sentimentality. I even laughed at a mime piece, like no other I have seen (thank you for that!) The film hit its peak, for me, somewhere around a little more than half way through, then the last two sequences picked up again. Some beautiful shots of Paris at night, lush romantic kind of music, usually used to good effect, not just schmaltz for "emotions" in sound, generally good cinematography, though some shots seemed soft focus when it couldn't have meant to have been (main character in shot/scene). Pacing of each film was good, and overall structure, though a bit long (they left out two of what was to be 20 films, but said all would be on the DVD) seemed to vary between tones of the films to keep a good balance. Not sure when it comes out, but a good study of how to make a 5 min film work..and sometimes, what doesn't work (if it covers too much time, emotionally, for a short film.) Should be in region one when released, but they didn't know when.

Much art, literature, and indeed film has been created to try to capture some sense of the joi d'vivre of Paris. In fact, the very genesis of cinematography included the late nineteenth century inventions of the French Lumière brothers' 1895 cinematographe portable projector and motion picture camera, and Georges Méliès pioneering special effects.

"Paris, je t'aime" sheds new focus on the City of Lights and Love. The concept - 20 arrondissements, 20 directors, 18 (it was originally 20)stories, 127 minutes. Each story is to begin with the closing shot of the previous one.

A breathtaking team of directorial and acting talent, such as Gurinder Chadha (Bend it Like Beckham), Natalie Portman (Star Wars episodes I, II, and III, Garden State), Juliette Binoche (Chocolat, The English Patient), Nick Nolte (Hotel Rwanda), Joel and Ethan Coen (Blood Simple, Raising Arizona), Tom Tykwer (Run, Lola, Run), and Elijah Wood (The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Everything is Illuminated), were assembled. The directors were to each create an approximately five-minute film relating a romantic Parisian encounter, and to do this with a 2-3 day shooting schedule.

The result is playfully energetic and generally fun vignettes of local color that help characterize the city's diversity. It all, somehow, hangs together, even though the individual stories are very different – just as two Parisians or city districts.

My favorite was Tour Eiffel (directed by the French Sylvain Chomet), about two mimes who magically turn any frowns in their lives into smiles. Their delight at meeting each other is obvious in the exuberance of their "riding" mime vehicles which appear to zip them to cafés and romantic walks along the Seine, and is humorously contrasted to the askance looks of others. The female mime, played by Yolande Moreau, incidentally, has a film credit in Jean-Pierre Jeunet's 2001 film "Amélie".

Gurinder Chadha's Quais de Seine reveals the promise of cross-cultural love for a beautiful Muslim girl rushing off to prayers. Brazilian directors Walter Salles and Daniela Thomas present a touching tale of a young immigrant mother who must wake up very early and drop her still sleeping baby off at a nursery in the dark, then rush through a long journey into the city's 16th arrondissement to care for another baby, that of a wealthy family's.

Many of the films have an element of the surreal and fanciful that, to me, was a little reminiscent of the quirkiness of Amelie, though less subtle. In Porte de Choisy, Christopher Doyle depicts a salesman who arrives at a Chinese hair salon to present a new product line. He is inexplicably greeted at the door by a woman who punches through the glass door and pulls him in; he is quickly dismissed. The film ends up, after a short scene in a Buddhist temple complete with a bowling alley, almost in an MTV-like dance sequence of the beautiful salon owner, with an obvious change of heart, in a flowing black dress, her co-workers in fatigues, and the salesman.

There are many stories, each of which is bound, even in a few minutes' duration, to surprise. There's the story of the husband waiting to meet his wife to announce his intent to divorce her; fellow diners become a Greek chorus to respond to her unexpected life-changing news that she first presents, and which in turn causes his own life to radically alter. Traumatized by the death of her young son, Suzanne (Juliette Binoche) is lured from her sleep to a fantasy get-together with him. An elderly man, played by Nick Nolte, rushes to meet a young woman who is nervous about how the new male in her life will react – but the story turns out to be anything but cliché.

One story is about an aid worker treating a stabbed immigrant from Lagos awash with mellifluous song. In a Gothic tale, Elijah Wood plays the role of a tourist out late at night who stumbles upon a temptress vampire. In Tom Tykwer's Faubourg Saint-Denis, Natalie Portman plays an American who comes to Paris to act; the film begins with her apparent breakup call, poetically expressed, to her blind boyfriend, but the flashback to their spring, summer, and fall of their relationship and a final flash forward reveals the true sense of their seasons together.

"Paris, je t'aime", I am finding, is the kind of film (films?!) that grows on you. As I reflect on it, I feel the desire to experience it all again, and suspect that I would enjoy it even more. While there were a few segments that I didn't care for, many of the stories had subtleties and inherent references that could easily be missed. For those segments that just don't capture a viewer's interest, one can look forward to a new story just minutes later.

The concept itself is a clever one, though it could have been, and thankfully wasn't, unremarkably executed if it had mediocre talent. I think that I missed some transition motifs, but in general the films flowed well together, even with seemingly very different stories juxtaposed one after the other. There was effort to weave the episodes together through the transitions and at the end; I would have enjoyed this to have been a bit more developed.

There are a few perhaps difficult to experience language episodes and mature situations, though not particularly many. In any case I don't think that most teens or children would relate well to some of the stories. I do recommend "Paris, je t'aime" to most discerning adults who would appreciate nuanced and clever plots, often with charming and understated humor. Lovers of Paris, of course, must see this montage of films. Like a tempting candy sampler with bonbons wrapped this way and that, "Paris, je t'aime" offers much to delight.

6 ½ stars out of 10 (This is a version of a review that I sent for publication in a regional magazine on June 20, 2007)

I am hopeless, either I definitely have no artistic vein whatsoever, or this film is a bunch of nice (and not so nice) clips, but all together a load of nonsense... It says nothing, feels nothing and is going nowhere. As usual however, I am definitely in a minority, considering that over 62% of the viewing public gave this film a vote between 8-10, but I suppose that is just the way it has to be...

Notwithstanding one or two good clips (that could or should be developed into real movies), all the rest is rather pathetic. 5 minutes is far too short even for great directors to make something meaningful. Consequently, many of the 18 shorts featured are mediocre, and some are a downright catastrophe. For example, Mr. Chomet's "Tour Eiffel" (a mime show that probably only the French can understand), Mr. Suwa's "Place des Victoires" (an awkward and somewhat corny exploration of a parent's sorrow), Christopher Doyle's "Porte de Choisy," (in which a traveling salesman of cosmetic products visits a Chinese beauty parlor) and Vincenzo Natali's "Quartier de la Madeleine," (a 'romantic horror fantasy' starring Elijah Wood) are all not even worth spending the 5 minutes to watch them. Even Craven's "Père-Lachaise" which recounts of a couple arguing on Oscar Wilde's grave is a total zero. There are some decent clips, most notably "Quartier Latin" with Ben Gazzara and Geena Rowlands, and Oliver Schmitz's "Place des Fêtes," with Aïssa Maïga and Seydou Boro. Most of the rest is mediocre.

All in all, this is not a motion picture I could recommend to anyone, it leaves you completely empty and indifferent, simply because 5 minutes is not enough time for a director or actor to make us care... What's the point in making such a movie anyway?

18 directors had the same task: tell stories of love set in Paris. Naturally, some of them turned out better than others, but the whole mosaic is pretty charming - besides, wouldn't it be boring if all of them had the same vision of love? Here's how I rank the segments (that might change on a second viewing):

1. "Quartier Latin", by Gérard Depardieu

One of the greatest French actors ever directed my favourite segment, featuring the always stunning Gena Rowlands and Ben Gazzara. Witty and delightful.

2. "Tour Eiffel", by Sylvain Chomet

Cute, visually stunning (thanks to the director of "The Triplets of Belleville") story of a little boy whose parents are mimes;

3. "Tuileries", by Ethan and Joel Coen

The Coen Brothers + Steve Buscemi = Hilarious

4. "Parc Monceau", by Alfonso Cuarón ("Y Tu Mamá También", "Children of Men"), feat. Nick Nolte and Ludivine Sagnier (funny);

5. "Place des Fêtes", by Oliver Schmitz, feat. Seydou Boro and Aissa Maiga (touching);

6. "14th Arrondissement", Alexander Payne's ("Election", "About Schmidt") wonderful look for the pathetic side of life is present here, feat. the underrated character actress Margo Martindale (Hilary Swank's mother in "Million Dollar Baby") as a lonely, middle-aged American woman on vacation;

7. "Faubourg Saint-Denis", Tom Tykwer's ("Run Lola Run") frantic style works in the story of a young actress (Natalie Portman) and a blind guy (Melchior Beslon) who fall in love;

8. "Père-Lachaise", by Wes Craven, feat. Emily Mortimer and Rufus Sewell (plus a curious cameo by Alexander Payne as...Oscar Wilde!);

9. "Loin du 16ème", by Walter Salles and Daniela Thomas (simple but moving story from the talented Brazilian directors, feat. Catalina Sandino Moreno);

10. "Quartier des Enfants Rouges", by Olivier Assayas ("Clean"), a sad story feat. the always fantastic Maggie Gyllenhaal;

11. "Le Marais", by Gus Van Sant, feat. Gaspard Ulliel, Elias McConnell and Marianne Faithful (simple, but funny);

12. "Quartier de la Madeleine", by Vincenzo Natali, feat. Elijah Wood and Olga Kurylenko;

13. "Quais de Seine", by Gurinder Chadha;

14. "Place des Victoires", by Nobuhiro Suwa, feat. Juliette Binoche and Willem Dafoe;

15. "Bastille", by Isabel Coixet (fabulous director of the underrated "My Life Without Me"), feat. Miranda Richardson, Sergio Castellitto, Javier Cámara and Leonor Watling;

16. "Pigalle", by Richard LaGravenese, feat. Bob Hoskins and Fanny Ardant;

17. "Montmartre", by and with Bruno Podalydès;

18. "Porte de Choisy", by Christopher Doyle, with Barbet Schroeder (mostly known as the director of "Barfly", "Reversal of Fortune" and "Single White Female").

I could classify some segments as brilliant and others as average (or even slightly boring), but not a single of them is plain bad. On the whole, I give "Paris, Je t'Aime" an 8.5/10 and recommend it for what it is: a lovely mosaic about love and other things in between.

"Paris Je T'aime" is a compilation of 18 short and disconnected stories about love in the "city of lights". That's absolutely a good premise, the very one which made me want to watch this movie. However, someone forgot to say that these stories are really too short and some of them completely senseless! If it's true that in some stories we can watch a plot, some character developing and some deepness in just 5 minutes, it's also truth that the other stories are completely vain, without any sense or meaning! I think they're too short to create any interest, tension or expectation to the viewer! In some cases it's really just a matter of time, because we can see that the plot was "going on a good way", it was being nice, but suddenly it just stops, it's the end of the short movie… From the 18 stories I think that just a few had a beginning, a development and an ending in the mentioned 5 minutes…

My favourite stories were: "Quais de Seine"; "Tuileries"; "Bastille"; "Place des Fetes"; "Quartier de la Madeleine" and "Faubourg Saint-Denis".

Generally, the acting is nice, the soundtrack is good and the portraying of the city is also excellent.

Overall I think this project started with a nice idea (the main idea of creating a few stories about love, in Paris, characterizing the city itself and connecting this characterization with the stories is really good) but they spoiled it a bit dividing it in so many short movies. I think it would work much better if it had just 5/6 stories of 20 minutes each (it would have much more time to develop the plot and the characters) instead of 18 stories of 5 minutes (which it's not enough time to develop a story either we like it or not!). So I must say it was somewhat disappointing

... for Paris is a moveable feast." Ernest Hemingway

It is impossible to count how many great talents have immortalized Paris in paintings, novels, songs, poems, short but unforgettable quotes, and yes - movies. The celebrated film director Max Ophüls said about Paris,

"It offered the shining wet boulevards under the street lights, breakfast in Montmartre with cognac in your glass, coffee and lukewarm brioche, gigolos and prostitutes at night. Everyone in the world has two fatherlands: his own and Paris."

Paris is always associated with love and romance, and "Paris, Je T'Aime" which is subtitled "Petite romances," is a collection of short films, often sketches from 18 talented directors from all over the world. In each, we become familiar with one of the City of Light 20 arrondissements and with the Parisians of all ages, genders, colors, and backgrounds who all deal in love in its many variations and stages. In some of the "petite romances" we are the witnesses of the unexpected encounters of the strangers that lead to instant interest, closeness, and perhaps relationship: like for Podalydès and Florence Muller in the street of Montmartre in the opening film or for Cyril Descours and Leïla Bekhti as a white boy and a Muslim girl whose cross-cultural romance directed by Gurinder Chadha begins on Quais de Seine. I would include into this category the humorous short film by Gus Van Sant. In "Le Marais" one boy pours his heart out to another boy confessing of sudden unexpected closeness, asking permission to call - never realizing that the object of his interest does not understand French.

Some of the vignettes are poignant and even dark. In Walter Salles and Daniela Thomas' Loin du 16ème, Catalina Sandino Mareno (amazing Oscar nominated debut for Maria full of Grace) is single, working-class mother who has to work as a nanny in a wealthy neighborhood to pay for daycare where she drops her baby every morning before she goes to work. One of most memorable and truly heartbreaking films is "Place des Fêtes" by Oliver Schmitz. Aïssa Maïga and Seydou Boro co-star as two young people for who love could have happened. There were the promises of it but it was cut short due to hatred and intolerance that are present everywhere, and the City of Love and Light is no exception. Another one that really got to me was "Bastille", written and directed by Isabel Coixet, starring Sergio Castellitto, Miranda Richardson, and Leonor Watling. Castellitto has fallen out of love with his wife, Richardson but when he is ready to leave with the beautiful mistress, the devastating news from his wife's doctor arrives...

I can go on reflecting on all 18 small gems. I like some of them very much. The others felt weak and perhaps will be forgotten soon but overall, I am very glad that I bought the DVD and I know that I will return to my favorite films again and again. They are "Place des Fêtes" that I've mentioned already, "Père-Lachaise" directed by Wes Craven that involves the ghost of one of the wittiest and cleverest men ever, Oscar Wilde (Alexander Payne, the director of "Sideways") who would save one troubled relationship. Payne also directed "14th Arrondissement" in which a lonely middle-aged post-worker from Denver, CO explores the city on her own providing the voice over in French with the heavy accent. Payne's entry is one of the most moving and along with hilarious "Tuileries" by Joel and Ethan Coen with (who else? :)) Steve Buschemi is my absolute favorite. In both shorts, American tourists sit on the benches (Margo in the park, and Steve in Paris Metro after visiting Louvers) observing the life around them with the different results. While Margo may say, "My feeling's sad and light; my sorrow is bright..." Steve's character will find out that sometimes, even the most comprehensive and useful tourist guide would not help a tourist avoiding doing the wrong things in a foreign country.

An anthology film featuring several short segments about finding or losing love in Paris, each directed by a different director, some known to me, some not, and a host of actors, some known to me, some not.

A couple of the stories land with a thud while some are quite nice. Most of them are pretty melancholy, but Gus Van Sant does direct a rather funny episode about a French man who thinks he finds his soul mate in another young man and talks his ear off, not realizing that the other man doesn't understand a word of French. Catalina Sandino Moreno gives a lovely performance in an achingly sad story about a poor young mother who travels across the city every day to take care of a wealthy lady's baby, leaving her own baby in the care of others. Ben Gazzara and Gena Rowlands do terrific work in a segment about a separated couple meeting in a restaurant to finalize their divorce. Maggie Gyllenhaal and Natalie Portman are two of the more famous faces in the film, but they don't get very good material to work with. There's a Gothic vampire segment starring Elijah Wood and a just plain weird story directed by Joel Coen and starring Steve Buscemi. Those of you who go to the film hoping to see the sights of Paris may be disappointed, as much of the action takes place in the confines of restaurants and homes, or in parts of the city that don't have any of the most recognizable landmarks.

By far my favorite segment is the last one in the film, written and directed by Alexander Payne and starring the marvelous Margo Martindale. Martindale plays a dumpy American tourist who travels to Paris by herself earnestly seeking a European adventure. Any American who has traveled abroad hoping not to be instantly recognizable as an American should be able to relate. This segment is the only thing about this diverting but rather forgettable movie that stuck with me.

Grade: B

Delightful film directed by some of the best directors in the industry today. The film is also casting some of the great actors of our time, not just from France but from everywhere.

My favorite segments:

14th arrondissement: Carol (Margo Martindale), from Denver, comes to Paris to learn French and also to make a sense of her life.

Montmartre: there was probably not a better way to start this movie than with this segment on romantic Paris.

Loin du 16ème: an image of Paris that we are better aware of since the riots in the Cités. Ana (Catalina Sandino Moreno) spends more time taking care of somebody else's kid (she's a nanny) than of her own.

Quartier Latin: so much fun to see Gérard Depardieu as the "tenancier de bar" with Gena Rowlands and Ben Gazzara discussing their divorce.

Tour Eiffel: don't tell me you didn't like those mimes!

Tuileries: such a treat to see Steve Buscemi as the tourist who's making high-contact (a no- no) with a girl in the Metro.

Parc Monceau: Nick Nolte is great. Ludivine Sagnier also.

I've spend 3 days in Paris in 2004 and this movie makes me want to go back!

Seen in Barcelona (another great city), at the Verdi, on March 18th, 2007.

84/100 (***)

PARIS JE T'AIME is a unique film because it's directed by many directors that each directs his own segment and then pieced them together for making one movie, some of the segments are brief and some longer, and the styles of each is varied.

There are many shorts but I will talk about the ones that struck me most. TUILEIRES: in the metro station an American tourist (Steve Buscemi) seats on a bench and reads a manual about good manners and casually crosses eyes with a girl that kisses him for making his boyfriend jealous. PLACE DES VICTOIRES: a mom still can't get over the loss of her young son and in the night she is visited in the town square by a mysterious cowboy (Willem Dafoe) that conforts her. QUARTIER DE LA MADELEINE: a young turist (Elijah Wood) sees a sexy vampire (Olga Kurylenko) feeding of the remains of a man, and she saves him biting him and they end up biting each other forever.

There are many others, and they don't have anything that really connects except that they are all set in Paris, but the idea was nice. Some of the performances were nice, some ok. If all the episodes were engaging I probably would have given a 9, but thanks to some lazy episodes I felt limited.

Rudyard Kipling once wrote that God gave to all people the ability to love the whole world, but given that a human heart is very small in size, every human has that special place that he loves more than any other. It seems to me that this may have been the motto of some of the most eminent directors of today when they set out to profess the eternal love for that special place and depict situations in the lives of its denizens and visitors. The result is a wonderful collection of short films, Paris je t'aime, in which our guides, Van Sant, Coixet, Cuaron, Payne and others take us on a breathtaking stroll through Parisian arrondissements, human feelings, yearnings and expectations.

Always some other quarter, always some utterly moving story about ordinary people in search for love, be it in a parking lot, art studio, tube station. And Paris je t'aime is about vast array of loves- love for one's partner, child, parent, for those who meant the world to us but are no longer around, love that needs rekindling, serendipitous love for that stranger as your eyes meet, or love that just is not meant to be...today, but tomorrow- who knows?

Nevertheless, this film is not solely about love, but life itself, joy, pain, loneliness, confusion, everyday ups and downs. And its most important quality is the fact that it is not soppy at all, but rather warm and full of hope.

I give this film a 9 because the final section of it suggests how some of the stories might further develop, but not all of them and that is the thing that I find missing, and by "further development" I do not mean some specific reference to the characters' future. As far as everything else is concerned I can only say- captivating. Makes you want to leave everything behind you, flee to Paris and live those little romances yourself.

Paris Je T ' aime is a movie that explores the different kinds and aspects of love and all the emotions that it provokes. This movie reunites some of the best directors from around the world such as Gus Van Sant, Joel and Ethan Coen , Walter Salles a...(read more)nd Alfonso Cuaron to tell short stories about love located in Paris, each one with their particular way of directing. In this film we also have one of the best cast ever seen in a movie including such great actors like Willem Dafoe, Steve Buscemi, Natalie Portman, Elijah Wood, Gerard Depardieu and many more each one with great performances. In conclusion, this movie is a compilation of stories of happiness, separation, unexpected encounters and love.

Paris, je t'Aime consists of 18 different stories, by 18 different directors and with an enormous amount of actors. That is why it's impossible to give an opinion about the movie as a whole.

For me personally, there were some beautiful and memorable stories, but if you consider the big names involved, to me there were too many flawed stories, that just didn't impress. The most famous directors (in America) are probably the Coen brothers and maybe Gus van Sand. I suppose the style of the brothers is something you love or hate. I hate it. I haven't seen a lot of their work, but enough to understand that Tuileries is typical. So, if you like their style, you'll love this. The only thing good to me were the hilarious expressions of Buscemi, who plays an American tourist.

My favorite story would probably be Bastille, a touching story about a man who falls in love again with his dying wife. It is filmed in a typically french way, with a voice-over, which makes it even more sad.

Looking at it generally, there were many bad ones( Tour Eiffel, Porte de Choisy), some good ones (Pigalle, Bastille) but mostly okay ones; not bad, but not memorable. If you only have five minutes to tell a story, it has to leave an impression, and not so many did that.

I have to say there was some talent present, both actors and directors. This movie makes you want to see Paris, and some stories do make you feel good because of the love.

One last thing that bothered me; for a french movie set in Paris, there sure were a lot of Americans... Paris je t'aime is a movie worth seeing, if only to discover how opinions can differ.

Except for an establishing shot at the opening of each of these 18 flimsy shorts, we get absolutely no sense that we are in Paris. Most pieces take place indoors, or in nondescript locations, which could have been in any city in the world. Most of the situations too could be taking place anywhere.

Some stories are totally abysmal -- by far the worst being Vincenzo Natali's "Quartier de la Madeleine," starring Elijah Wood and Olga Kurylenko as vampires; another irritatingly meaningless piece is Christopher Doyle's "Porte de Choisy."

If your French is good you will enjoy and appreciate Alexander Payne's "14ème Arrondissement," starring Margo Martindale as a Denver postal worker spending her holiday in Paris; the voice-over consists of her narration in terrible French which one must understand in order to really appreciate, since the subtitles will not do justice to her hilarious Franglais ("... après avoir sauvé mon argent..."). This is by far the best piece in the collection -- which isn't saying much