It’s to be expected these days that a film that so completely satisfies audience members expectations of what great cinema can do has been released in the states with little excitement. Here we have 18 shorts directed by some of the world's most distinguished directors as well as a few new filmmakers, all centered around the idea of Paris and love, each story only given minutes to unfold. While what appear to be barriers, curtailing the story potential of each director, has instead opened up the field of what can be done in the movies. To describe the details of each short would be criminal, what I can say is that Alexander Payne’s short might be his best film yet and a masterpiece for the ages. The tone changes between shorts with just enough forethought to never get boring or gimmicky (which is always a threat with films of this type.) Only two of the eighteen fail, and so brief are their running times that the film as a whole swallows them up and continues to enchant viewers seemingly without effort. Similar to the main character of Payne’s “14th arrondissement” viewers reconnect to humanity through Paris, Je T’aime and in turn leave the theater wondering at life with all of its simple and complicated pleasures.
6/10/07 at 8:02pm
- Joined: May 2006
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