Film Reviews

Paris, Je T'Aime

• Rating:
• Director: Joel and Ethan Coen, Wes Craven, Gus Van Sant, Walter Salles, Alfonso Cuaron.
• Starring: Steve Buscemi, Juliette Binoche, Natalie Portman, Elijah Wood.
• Details: France / 115mins (15).

18 short films about love in Paris, Paris, Je T'Aime is directed by 22 directors (the Coens, amongst others, double up). During the 115 minutes, which seems a lot shorter due to the barrage of shorts, we are treated to little snippets of people's lives as future lovers are meeting for the first time and old lovers are breaking up and divorcing. Paris Je T'Aime attempts to encompass all aspects of love but never tries to stick it in a box and say 'this is what love is', instead allowing it to breathe, flow and be, and the film is a lot stronger for it. Among the stories we see Bob Hoskins and his odd sexual relationship with his wife, Rufus Sewell and Emily Mortimer plan their wedding next to Oscar Wilde's tombstone, Natalie Portman falls for a blind student, Nick Nolte finds time to baby-sit his grandson and Bruno Podalydes tends to a fainting Florence Muller. It's not all sunshine and lollipops, however, as Buscemi's tourist gets on the wrong side of a jealous boyfriend, Wood falls for a vampire, Binoche mourns the death of her son and a dying Seydou Boro finally finds love in the eyes of a paramedic. Romance, tragedy, death, laughter and fantasy - there's something here for everyone and with so many stories, so many styles going on and only ten minutes to do all they can, Paris Je t'aime, although it might not sound like it, is a tight, focussed affair. If you can't afford a trip away anytime soon, Paris Je T'Aime is a two-hour holiday in the French capital - and you can't ask for more than that.

Review by Gavin Burke