Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Paris, je t'aime

  • One City. 10 Million Hearts. One Love Story. One Film.
  • Fall in love with Paris 18 times.
In the summer of 2006 a special film was released in Paris called Paris, je t'aime or Paris, I love you. The concept was to invite 20 of the best film makers to create 20 five-minute films of Paris, one for each arrondisement in Paris. The list of directors includes Walter Salles, Alfonso Cuarón, Tom Tykwer, Gus Van Sant, Wes Craven, Alexander Payne, Gurinder Chadha and Joel and Ethan Coen. Only 18 films were included in the final version but still each film shows the diversity of Paris, the different lives one can lead in Paris and certainly the different interpretations of Paris, and especially love in Paris.

The film is released in the United States in June 2007. It is a very special film and not to be missed. Do not be afraid of watching a film while reading many sub-titles; there is a mix of languages, mostly French and English. The actors are French, British and American movie actors, some quite well known. Interestingly, some of the better known actors play minor supporting roles.

One can find several trailers and even several of the films by individual directors on the internet. Here are some that I really enjoy...



The Simple Things in Paris

Very often I walk through the streets of Paris in the neighborhoods where I live. There is always something new to see, people, buildings and quite often small objects almost hidden from normal view. I like the ancient door knobs, small stone steps and the iron bars constructed to protect doorways from cartridge wheels and now automobile wheels.

One day while walking past the Jardin du Luxembourg in the 6th arrondisement where I live, I noticed part of the iron entrance gate to the gardens, finely crafted with an interesting pattern. It was a strong image against the cobble-stones and very typical of the images I enjoy in Paris.