Paris, Je T'Aime (2006)

Recommended

France/Germany

Short Film Compendium

Original Title: Paris, je t'aime

Directors: Olivier Assayas, Frédéric Auburtin, Emmanuel Benbihy, Gurinder Chadha, Sylvain Chomet, The Coen Brothers, Isabel Coixet, Wes Craven, Alfonso Cuarón, Gérard Depardieu, Christopher Doyle, Richard LaGravenese, Vincenzo Natali, Alexander Payne, Bruno Podalydès, Walter Salles, Oliver Schmitz, Suwa Nobuhiro, Daniela Thomas, Tom Tykwer, Gus Van Sant

A collection of 18 short films, each set in a different area of Paris, on the subject of love, which, unsurprisingly are a mixed bunch, with most being merely diverting and often instantly forgettable, but a few shine above the rest: Van Sant’s understated tale of amour peut être, Walter Salles and Daniela Thomas’s poignant look at maternal love, Suwa Nobuhiro's fantastical look at grief, Olivier Assayas’s wry tale about a drug dealer and an actress, Tom Tykwer’s plot-packed cross-cultural romance, and Alexander Payne’s bitter-sweet look at middle-aged loneliness all manage to stick in the memory. Iain.Stott