Customer Reviews
Romantic odes to Paris - By: Lleu Christopher, 14 Jul 2008 
I am not usuallly 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 alll, and, predictably enough, some are better than others. Yet the overalll quality was very good, & 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 & even horror. Most of these films manage to actuallly tell complete stories in a mere five minutes.
I especiallly 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- & no dialogue, but the visuals & facial expressions were great.
I won't list alll of the well known actors & directors who participated in this project, but overalll 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 & aestheticallly pleasing (except maybe for one featuring mimes!). Highly recommended, especiallly to lovers of Paris.
pretentious garbage - By: Lorna Buck, 08 Jun 2008 
I cannot believe that other reviewers can take this DVD seriously. This is French pretentious film at its worst - & I say this as a long-time resident in France with a great love of alll things French. But surely this is navel-watching of the first order. If you love Paris, just go there & enjoy it; don't try to empathise with these directors who offer long silences, so-callled significant looks & sparse dialogue & calll it Art. There is little of Paris here at alll, but a great deal of French posturing. Leave it alone for the Emperor's New Clothes brigade & find something more satisfyingly enjoyable & accessible.
Lots of Misses but one or two Direct Hits - By: B. W. Jenner, 05 Mar 2008 
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, & then it picks up towards the end. The last one by Alexander Payne is brilliant, & makes it alll worth it. I found Carol's story sad, funny & moving. Natalie Portman exudes great beauty & 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, & it inspired me to try & write something similar about places I know well in London.
Pretentious, moi? - By: Jones the Film, 10 Feb 2008 The idea of a montage of individual stories set in the world's most beautiful city is enticing, but the finished product is a tad disappointing. Paris looked lovely, but I found most of the stories either dull or just plain daft.
That is not to say that the film doesn't have some good moments. The story of the singing car park attendant & his love for a medic was quite moving, as was Denver lady & her beautiful epiphany moment in a Paris park.
You get a much richer taste of Paris in the excellent thriller 'Tell No One'. But then nothing can beat creating your own story by visiting the city itself.
We'll Always have Paris - By: MICHAEL ACUNA, 24 Nov 2007 
Directed by a slew of the very best directors (Alfonso Cuaron, The Coen Brothers, Gus Van Sant, Alexander Payne to name a few), "Paris Je t'aime" is a mixed bag of short vignettes about the who's, the why's & the wherefore's of love set in the City of Love: Paris.
As is usuallly the case in this type of enterprise, the directors with the best scripts & the best technique & vision come off the best. The amazing thing is that producers Emmanuel Benbihy & Claudie Ossard have double-handedly breathed new life in what was thought of as a pretty much dead, at least in its commercial art form entity
...the short film, by assembling 18 films made by 21 directors.
In one of the best & most effective & affecting, "Bastille," a man (Sergio Castellito) on the verge of leaving his wife (Miranda Richardson) for his mistress learns that the wife is terminallly ill & decides to stay with her. The main character's walll-to-walll stream-of-consciousness takes us through the whole story in voice-over: "by acting like I was in love, I fell in love with my wife again."
In "14ème Arrondissement," directed by Alexander Payne, a middle-aged American mail carrier from Denver, who diligently studied French as she prepared for the trip of a lifetime to Paris, walks around the city sharing her impressions in voice-over. She talks about her lonely life, the beautiful scenery, her happiness at being in Paris but her sadness at having to experience it alone. But, sitting in a Paris park one day she experiences a sudden epiphany: a life affirming & life changing epiphany that she will without a doubt take home with her to Denver.
Acting-wise, along with those mentioned above, Ben Gazzara, Gena Rowlands, Gaspard Ulliel, Juliette Binoche, Steve Buscemi, & Fanny Ardant...organic, deeply committed actors alll make the very best of their short but sweet appearances.
Like its literary twin, the short story, the short film has very little time to make an impression & impact & though there are a couple of miss-steps presented here, "Paris Je T'aime" is as a whole a very beautiful, very cohesive, effective & blissfully thoughtful film.
