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REEL LIFE FOR
REEL LIFE FOR
A GREAT CAPITAL
A GREAT CAPITAL
Around the City of Light in 20 short, romantic tales - that’s the bold aim of Paris, Je T’aime
abelled “un film collectif”, Paris Je T’aime, the 120-minute movie that was glittering- ly launched at Cannes earlier this year, is an ambitious, star-studded compilation of 20 five-minute sketches about each of the City of Light’s arrondissements. The
directors were asked to tell a story about a romantic encounter in Paris, and although most episodes are in French, (three are in English, a few are a mixture of both), only very few of the project’s helmers are actually Paris natives.
The producers were interested in the impres- sions of ‘outsiders’ or foreigners to the city to cap- ture a fresh, and a raw (if sometimes harsh) reality of contemporary Paris, that would counterbalance the enchantment strangers usually experience while wandering about this magical city.
In each episode, Paris’s diversity is revealed in its clashing atmospheres, generations, cultures, social classes and ethnicities; in the short time allotted, sketches delve into some of life’s cruellest and most heart-wrenching situations; some are lighthearted comedies, others whimsical or wacky fantasies.
Paris Je T’aime is a rollercoaster ride of 20 different emotional experiences that leaves you exhausted and exhilarated. Despite a modest budget, this ‘small’ film is still a heavyweight with a list of eclectic directors - Gurinder Chadha, Alfonso Cuáron, Gus Van Sant, Joel and Ethan Coen, Walter Salles and Daniela Thomas, Tom Tykwer, Christopher Doyle, Isabel Coixet, Oliver Schmitz, Nobuhiro Suwa, Sylvain Chomet, Olivier Assayas, Wes Craven, Gerard Depardieu and Frederic Auburtin, Alexander Payne, Richard LaGravenese, Vincenzo Natali, and Bruno Podalydes.
A super galactic cast of characters is por- trayed by a stellar international cast, including Juliette Binoche, Fanny Ardent, Bob Hoskins, Gena Rowlands, Ben Gazzara, Marianne Faithful, Steve Buscemi, Catalina Sandina Moreno, Emily Mortimer, Barbet Schroder, Rufus Sewell, Li Xin, Miranda Richardson, Nick Nolte, Natalie Portman, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Ludivine Sagnier, Margo Martindale, Monica Bellucci, Elijah Wood - to name a few.
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Photos: scenes from Paris Je T’aime
otion Picture • The Magazine • Exposure • 19