Film reviews
Paris, Je T’aime
Directed by Various Directors, 2006
Paris, Je T’aime (Paris, I Love You) is a compilation of 18 short films, by 18 different filmmakers, all brought together by a common theme: Love. It’s not everyday that you see films like this, in which several completely separate stories are shown, all with completely different characters (though it has been done before Jim Jarmusch’s Coffee and Cigarettes comes to mind), so, at least for me, this was a welcome change. The most satisfying aspect of the movie is that you get to watch 18 movies one after the other, so if you’re a movie fan (particularly of dramatic, poetic, love stories), you’ll pretty much be in heaven!
Each director gives the audience a quick glimpse of the city of Paris (each with a different, well-known location as it’s backdrop) as the films’ characters struggle with one of the most complicated, yet universal emotions that exists.
It is if each director was shown a still image, and the stories that the audience watches are their imaginative interpretations of those images. Conversely, I think that if one were to take any one frame from either of the films, having not seen the films or being in any way exposed to the stories, one would probably come up with a story or theme very similar to the one that the filmmaker ultimately created. (J.B.)
One of the chief pleasures of Paris, Je T’aime (Paris, I Love You) — an anthology of 18 five-minute shorts directed by an assortment of world-class directors — is seeing how each filmmaker adheres to their assignment of making a movie about love in Paris but still comes up with a distinctly personal work that bears their artistic sensibilities.
Like any omnibus film, Paris, Je T’aime has its share of duds (Wes Craven’s ghost story, for example, comes off as an exercise in forced whimsy), but they are outnumbered by the hits, such as Christopher Doyle’s outrageous tale about a hair-products vendor or Isabel Coixet’s hauntingly bittersweet look at a man planning to leave his wife for another woman.
In all their variations, with many of them graced by the presence of big-name actors, these 18 movies coalesce into an incandescent portrait of a city rife with possibilities for romance. Like a great book of short stories, this film should be enjoyed for its distinct pleasures. My advice, pour a glass of your favorite wine, turn down the lights and let this movie work its charms. (J.R.)
Once
Directed by John Carney, 2006
The Sundance Film Festival favorite Once had been praised as a new style of musical, or a genre-defying musical. Calling it a musical certainly stretches the definition of the term. My perception of the film is a sweet, gentle drama that features the attraction between two people that is defined by their similar musical interests. Their lives are likeably ordinary, but their budding friendship, with its hints of a romance that will — or won’t — blossom, is enough to propel them to take a chance on putting music first in their lives (or in the case of herself, with a daughter to raise, as a close second). Therefore it is the romance of their musical desire that this friendship ignites. He will record some demo tracks that she will perform on, and she will pen lyrics for one of his melodies. These songs will be his calling card when he goes to London to try and make it in the music business and perhaps reconnect with the girl that inspired his songwriting.
Written and directed by John Carney, a newcomer to our shores, this understated gem is an invigorating antidote after two months of overwrought summer blockbusters. The performances are so naturalistic, coming from two musical performers with little professional acting experience, the film almost feels like a documentary about the early origins of a now hot indie emo band. Quiet and perceptive about relationships, Once is a small but perfect antidote to a year filled with noisy and vacuous blockbusters. (J.R.)
Night on Earth
Directed by Jim Jarmusch, 1991
In Night on Earth (written and directed by acclaimed, independent filmmaker Jim Jarmusch) we peek into a few seemingly insignificant moments in the lives of five sets of people, in five different cities around the world. The stories all take place in taxi cabs, and all the action is taking place at the exact same time!
The film is organized as a “compilation film,” or a series of short films or vignettes played one after the other. Between each short film is a shot of a wall that contains five analog clocks each showing the time in the time zone that corresponds to the city in which the story will take place.
Since Jarmusch attempts to pack as much meaning into these 20 - 30-minute films as he would into a feature-length film (90-120 minutes), the viewer has to pay closer attention to the smaller details like the characters’ wardrobes, their expressions; the settings, particular buildings; the music, sound effects, and so on, in order to get any meaning from the film since there’s no way that everything that “needs” to be seen and heard can be in this limited time. Not, at least without making the film trivial and predictable, like so much of mainstream media is. (J.B.)
