Paris Je T'aime

Release date: May 18, 2007
Directed by: Sylvain Chomet, Ethan and Joel Coen, Alfonso Cuaron, Gerard Depardieu, Alexander Payne and Gus Van Sant, among others
Starring: Juliette Binoche, Steve Buscemi, Nick Nolte, Elijah Wood, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Bob Hoskins, Miranda Richardson

Perspectives on Paris are about as varied and deeply personal as the city itself. So it's really not all that surprising to find Paris Je T'aime, a collection of some 18 vignettes, centered on the greatest Parisian theme: l'amour, bien sur.

An ambitious project, the film attempts to encompass the many facets and personalities of Paris life through the eyes of many directors, both French and international, and a spectrum of actors just as encompassing and unique. Trying to fairly critique each tiny bite would be a lengthy and likely tiresome discourse. So let's examine the whole itself, noting a few of the outstanding and unsuccessful ingredients.

With an eclectic range of directors and a breadth of subject matter that's yet to be so thoroughly plundered, the film's greatest strength lies in its flavour. Each tiny segment throws the audience into an entirely different world yet they all take place in the same city. The daily grind of a new mother and working nanny in the town's low-income neighbourhoods. A woman's awkward transition from American tourist to honourary Parisian. A traveling student's dark encounter with a mysterious woman. It all fits together like some cosmic TV station that allows you to briefly breathe in another person's life before having the channel abruptly change to something entirely different.

It almost seems like the film was specifically designed to reach nearly every audience member, including the attention-deficit. If Alfonso Cuaron's tale of a conversation between an older man (Nolte) and a younger woman doesn't work, perhaps the Coen brothers' comical twist of a tourist waiting for the train will. Moments of painful trauma, heady infatuation, vampiric strangers, hell, even Oscar Wilde makes an appearance. With only minutes to grab the audience and create their own voice, each director is faced with the challenge of creating a lasting impression in a multi-storied tale. But where one particular moment fails to grab you, it's only minutes before the next is before your eyes.

And yet each tiny snapshot manages to grasp the nuances of love. And not just the silly, helpless romantic love we expect from a tourist glimpse of Paris. We also see precarious and unbreakable ties between family, children, spouses, and with the city itself.

But for every glorious and unexpectedly charming moment — such as director Sylvain Chomet's tale of two mimes that comically addresses the public's disdain and irritation while simultaneously creating an empathetic and sweet courting — there are a few moments of awkwardness. For instance, Gurinder Chadha eschews her normal charm with a disappointing segment that wallops the audience on the head with its blatant screech of "beauty comes in many forms." Yet these moments are rare, and are soon eclipsed by more engaging vignettes.

But more than anything, Paris Je T'aime is comprised of sweetly wistful and heartrendingly poignant moments, occasionally dipping into the seedy underbelly of one of the world's most famous and much-loved cities. At any rate, sometimes a gourmet sandwich tastes better with a multitude of flavours and textures. God knows the movie-going public has been forced to consume more than its fair share of tuna salad on Wonder Bread.