Paris Je T'aime
This movie came out on 2006 but I only watched it on Friday night.I've heard about this movie years back but didn't know where to get a copy of it.Luckily,the boyfriend told me about it 2 days before & that it was a very good movie & better than New York,I Love You & he downloaded it via torrent so we can watch it together.
The movie consists of 18 short films for 18 different arrondissements(Paris consists of 20 Arrondissements).2 other short films--XVe arrondissement, directed by Christoffer Boe, and XIe arrondissement, by Raphaël Nadjari,were not included in the movie due to time constraint,I guess.haha.
I have to say that I prefer the France(the actual original version) over the NY version.I recognize the names of some of the producers--Gerard Depardieu,Wes Craven,Alexander Payne,Alfonso Cuaron and Gurindher Chadha.There were also some familiar faces in the movie like Elijah Wood,Maggie Gylenhaal,Natalie Portman,Catalina Sandina Moreno,Steve Buscemi,and Juliette Binoche.
Out of the 18 short films,all of which was good(except for the bizzare hairstylist in Chinatown directed by Christopher Doyle),my fave was Tour Eiffel (VIIe arrondissement) written & directed by French animator Sylvain Chomet and Faubourg Saint-Denis (Xe arrondissement) — by German writer-director Tom Tykwer.
Tour Eiffel was just so cute!It is about this little boy who was telling the story about how his parents met and fall in love--which was in prison!Both of his parents are mime.You should really watch it as it is so cute.
Fauborg Saint-Denis was about a young couple-a struggling actress and her blind boyfriend.He taught they were broken up via a phone call so he told the story about how they drifted apart.
The other 16 short films are(taken from Wiki because I've no time to write all.haha)
1)Montmartre (XVIIIe arrondissement)by French writer-director Bruno Podalydès. A man (played by Podalydès himself) parks his car on a Montmartre street and muses about how the women passing by his car all seem to be "taken". Then a woman passerby (Florence Muller) faints near his car, and he comes to her aid. --I love the monologue by Podalydès at the start of the film.So funny!
2)Quais de Seine (Ve arrondissement) made by the husband-and-wife team of Japanese-American screenwriter Paul Mayeda Berges and Gurinder Chadha. A young man (Cyril Descours), hanging out with two friends who taunt all women who walk by, strikes up a friendship with a young Muslim woman (Leïla Bekhti). --A great one that featured a Muslim woman.
3)Le Marais (IVe arrondissement)by Gus Van Sant. A young male customer (Gaspard Ulliel) finds himself attracted to a young printshop worker (Elias McConnell) and tries to explain that he believes the man to be his soulmate...-you should watch the bittersweet twist at the end!
4)Tuileries (Ier arrondissement) by Joel and Ethan Coen. A comic film in which an American tourist (Steve Buscemi) waiting at the Tuileries station becomes involved in the conflict between a young couple (Axel Kiener and Julie Bataille) after he breaks the cardinal rule of avoiding eye contact with people on the Paris Metro. -The couple was just crazy!
5)Loin du 16e (XVIe arrondissement; literally: "far from the 16th") by Walter Salles and Daniela Thomas. A young immigrant woman (Catalina Sandino Moreno) sings a Spanish lullaby ("Qué Linda Manita") to her baby before leaving it in a daycare. -Cute babies alert!!
6)Porte de Choisy (XIIIe arrondissement) directed by Christopher Doyle.A comic film in which a beauty products salesman (Barbet Schroeder) makes a call on a Chinatown salon run by a woman (Li Xin) who proves to be a tough customer. --weird!
7)Bastille (XIIe arrondissement) by Isabel Coixet. Prepared to leave his marriage for a much younger lover, Marie Christine (Leonor Watling), a man named Sergio (Sergio Castellitto) instead decides to stay with his wife (Miranda Richardson) after she reveals a terminal illness - and he rediscovers the love he once felt for her. --a great story about how you can fall in love with someone again.
8)Place des Victoires (IIe arrondissement) by Nobuhiro Suwa. A mother (Juliette Binoche), grieving over the death of her little boy (Martin Combes), is comforted by a magical cowboy (Willem Dafoe). --this was a sad but hopeful short film.
9)Parc Monceau (XVIIe arrondissement) by Alfonso Cuarón. An older man (Nick Nolte) and younger woman (Ludivine Sagnier) meet for an arrangement that a third person ('Gaspard'), who is close to the woman, may not approve of. --this film will fool you because if you listen to what they're talking about,you might make an assumption regarding their relationship!
10)Quartier des Enfants Rouges (IIIe arrondissement) by Olivier Assayas. An American actress (Maggie Gyllenhaal) procures some exceptionally strong hashish from a dealer (Lionel Dray) whom she gets a crush on. --Don't do drugs Maggie!haha
11)Place des fêtes (XIXe arrondissement) by Oliver Schmitz. A Nigerian man (Seydou Boro), dying from a stab wound in the Place des fêtes asks a woman paramedic (Aïssa Maïga) for a cup of coffee. --this was very sad.Especially the last part whereby they zoom on the woman's shaking hands.
12)Pigalle (IXe arrondissement) by Richard LaGravenese. An aging couple (Bob Hoskins and Fanny Ardant) act out a fantasy argument for a prostitute in order to keep the spark in their relationship. ---the end of this film was sweet
13)Quartier de la Madeleine (VIIIe arrondissement) by Vincenzo Natali. A young backpacker tourist (Elijah Wood) falls in love with a vampiress (Olga Kurylenko).--this was very creepy because of the female vampire!!
14)Père-Lachaise (XXe arrondissement) by Wes Craven. While visiting Père Lachaise Cemetery, a young woman (Emily Mortimer) breaks up with her fiancé (Rufus Sewell). --I didn't really understood their conversation at first.The 'ghost' part was cool!haha
15)Quartier Latin (VIe arrondissement)directed by French actor Gérard Depardieu and French director Frédéric Auburtin.A separated couple (Ben Gazzara and Rowlands) meet at a bar (run by Gerard Depardieu) for one last drink before the two officially divorce. --this was a bit confusing as well.But you should listen closely to their conversation.
16)14e arrondissement (XIVe arrondissement)written and directed by Alexander Payne. Carol (Margo Martindale), a letter carrier from Denver, Colorado on her first European holiday, recites in rough French what she loves about Paris. --The woman French accent was just so funny!I love how this film was from the point view of a tourist.
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