The Catalyst

By Ellen Laase, Reporter

I can hear the naysayers already.

“Paris? You better be talkin’ ‘bout Paris, Texas, cause I hate the French.”

“Love stories? I’m not into ‘love story’ movies. Thanks anyway.”

“A movie set in Paris about love stories? I don’t think so! And I hate subtitles.”

Well, your loss, if that’s your thinking. Paris, the city of light, love and cinema, casts its dreamy spell once again in “Paris, Je T’aime,” an anthology of 18 love stories from 20 world-renowned filmmakers, all set in various famous Parisian neighborhoods, tourist spots, parks and landmarks. It was a movie that won me over immediately. It couldn’t be called perfect—the episodes are uneven and at times a bit confusing—but it has something that is sometimes better than perfection: a real love for its subject and themes.

In “Paris, Je T’aime, Paris is portrayed as a melting pot, changing, but connected by the sentimentality of love. There is love that is found, love that is renewed, love that is faded, and love that is lost. A man struggling for a parking space finds a woman fainting beside his car. A female paramedic comes to the rescue of a man she realized she knew. An immigrant mother leaves her own child at the nursery to be a nanny to another child. A traveling salesman is received with an unusual welcome by a salon owner. A husband renews his love for his wife. A mother mourns her dead son. These are a few of the clever stories comprising “Paris, Je T’aime,” and include blind love, mime love, and even an intense vampire love.

Directed by and starring some well-known veterans of film, including the Coen Brothers, Natalie Portman, Juliette Binoche and Elijah Wood, among others, “Paris, Je T’aime” is a colorful mosaic of short films, each capturing the beauty and allure of Paris. Although each five-minute segment has a separate plot line, the city of Paris provides an anchor to tie the entire film together and is successful in creating a very entertaining and clever film. Even if you typically prefer Texas to France, would rather watch “The Fast and the Furious” than a love story and don’t enjoy straining your eyes while reading subtitles, “Paris, Je T’aime” is a film worth watching.