Paris, Je T'aime (French)
Even for someone such as myself who has never been to the City of Light, "Paris, Je T'aime" is a masterful achievement, both as a film and as a heartfelt love letter to one of the world's most romantic cities. The two-hour film consists of 18 brief stories, each set in a different section of Paris and each made by a different filmmaker. Three vignettes were made by pairs, for a total of 21 directors involved in the project, plus a 22nd who worked on the brief transitions between films. The list is impressive, with men and women who are household names (Wes Craven, the Coen Brothers), popular in certain circles (Tom Tykwer, Gus Van Sant, Alexander Payne), known elsewhere but not in the U.S. (Olivier Assayas, Sylvain Chomet), and utterly unfamiliar (Oliver Schmitz, Vincenzo Natali). There are some who are primarily known for things other than directing, including actor Gerard Depardieu, writer Richard LaGravenese, and cinematographer Christopher Doyle. The directors hail from 10 different countries, from France to South Africa to Brazil to Japan. Are you not intrigued to see how almost two dozen artists with very different backgrounds would approach the project? Can 18 directors or pairs of directors produce stories that will blend well with the other filmmakers' work? When you make a stew, you can't just randomly throw ingredients into the pot. Who's to say an Alfonso Cuaron film will complement, rather than clash with, a Walter Salles production?
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