Last week I frequented one of my favourite local cinemas. It won my affection when its owners decided to invest in digital projectors, giving their viewers the enjoyment of glorious, speckle-free movies. It also enables the cinema to play films in super-widescreen format which is, after all, how some directors intend their films to be seen. However, on last weeks visit, I wasn’t there for the quality (though it was still appreciated), I was there for the art. Some people believe art is a lost concept in modern cinema, but its there if you look for it, and “Paris, je t’aime” (translation: Paris, I love you) is a wonderful example. Now, firstly let me quote the film’s writer, Emmanuel Benbihy, on his concept of “Paris, je t’aime”:
Paris, je t’aime is about the plurality of cinema in one mythic location: Paris, the City of Love. Twenty filmmakers will bring their own personal touch, underlining the wide variety of styles, genres, encounters and the various atmospheres and lifestyles that prevail in the neighborhoods of Paris. Each director has been given five minutes of freedom, and we, as producers, carry the responsibility of weaving a single narrative unit out of those twenty moments.
The 20 films will not appear in the order of the arrondissements, from one to twenty, but rather, in a pertinent narrative order, initially unknown to the audience. They will be fused together by transitional interstitial sequences, and also via the introduction and epilogue sequences of the feature film. Each transition will begin with the last shot of the previous film and will end with the first shot of the following film, and will have a threefold function: 1) The first is to extend the enchantment and the emotion of the previous segment, 2) The second is to prepare the audience for the surprise of the next segment, and 3) The third is to provide a general, comfortable and cohesive atmosphere to the feature film. The delightful and brief interludes of these transitions will enable the viewer to slide from one world to the next, featuring a recurring and unexpected character. This mysterious character is a witness to the Parisian life and helps create a continuous narration. It appears both in and in-between the films. In addition to the information these transitions will provide about the city and its people, their tone will be intentionally light often referring to famous scenes easily attributed to the history of Paris cinema. Similar specifications will be followed by the composer who will supervise the musical fusion between the films and the transitions as he creates the musical score of Paris, je t’aime. Considering the common theme of Paris and Love, the fusion between the films and the transitions, the fast pace of a fluid and complete storytelling, Paris, je t’aime will not be just another “anthology” picture. It will be a unique collective feature film that will constitute a two-hour cinematographic spectacle whose original structure will make for a dramatically different experience for its global audience.
So what these film makers have done is each shoot a 5 minute short film (usually with French dialogue - subtitled), depicting a scene of love in Paris. The context is variable, so that one moment you’re seeing a story about the love between a mother and her missing son, the next you’re witnessing the love an American tourist has for the city itself and the moment after that, you’re seeing the new found love between an aspiring actress and her neighbour. What’s quite cool, is that each film maker has employed their own, unique style to their piece. While some viewers might find this inconsistency annoying, I find it complements the mechanic of the film, because it reflects the differences between the characters in each of the 5 minute segments - some are noticably artistic while others are straight and subtle. Another thing to mention is that for an arty film, its packing quite a cast. The star-spotters among you will be pleased to hear that “Paris, je t’aime” features the likes of Elijah Wood, Natalie Portman, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Willem Dafoe to name just a few!
Of course, some of you may be wondering “Do the short films feel too short?” Surprisingly they don’t. Perhaps at first, but before long I found myself flowing with the film itself, such that I knew I wasn’t going to be viewing one particular person’s story for terribly long, but that by the end of the 5 minute segment I would understand their story and their love for Paris, no matter what form it took or who it was directed towards. This is a movie that is never once dull. There are no slow scenes as you’d expect to occur at some point in any major Hollywood flick, because in “Paris, je t’aime”, every scene is fresh, full of intrigue and will ultimately leave you walking out of the cinema completely contented.
