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Paris 36

EMAILPRINTSony Pictures Classics

Paris 36 reviews
40
4.0 User Score:

Mixed or average reviews

Based on 19 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 1 votes
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Movie Info

Genre(s): Drama

Written by: Christophe Barratier

Directed by: Christophe Barratier

Release Date:
Theatrical: April 3, 2009
DVD: August 11, 2009

Running Time: 120 minutes, Color

Origin: France | Germany | Czech Republic

Language(s): French

Summary

RATING: PG-13 for some sexuality and nudity, violence and brief language

Starring Gerard Jugnot, Kad Merad, Nora Arnezeder, Nora Arnezeder, Pierre Richard, Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu, Maxence Perrin, and François Morel

The setting is Spring 1936 ; a working-class district in the north of Paris. In the center of town there is a small square, a few shops, lopsided buildings, cobbled streets and the peeling façade of the neighborhood music hall, the Chansonia. In this blue-collar neighborhood, the triumphant election of the Popular Front government is greeted with enthusiasm and hopes for a brighter tomorrow, yet stirs up all kinds of extremism. Among the new government's promises is a law guaranteeing paid holidays for workers. In early May, three residents of the Faubourg – Pigoil, Milou, and Jacky – still sulk over the closing of the Chansonia four months ago. Supported by the locals who live to the rhythm of Monsieur TSF's radio, the three friends decide to take hold of their destiny by producing the "hit" musical the Chansonia has always needed. (Sony Pictures)

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

75

New York Post Lou Lumenick

A gleaming hunk of French period schmaltz expertly rendered by director Christophe Barratier.

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70

Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas

Paris 36 has a beguilingly authentic sound and offers a blend of impassioned sentiment and harsh, even brutal grit

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67

Christian Science Monitor Peter Rainer

The film is deliberately old-fashioned in its approach; the story line is resolutely linear and the production values are deluxe. It all makes for a fairly enjoyable, if schematic, backstage extravaganza.

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63

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

It's pleasant and amusing. If I had seen it before I was born, I would have loved it.

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63

Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey

The nicest that can be said of this unapologetically schmaltzy, and not unenjoyable, affair is that it is the best 1936 musical made in 2009.

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60

New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman

Barratier directs with a jaunty artifice more typically seen on stage, but with the exception of Arnezeder, his cast turns theatricality to its advantage. They're offering us a sunny fantasy during a cloudy time, and seem well aware that we're unlikely to resist.

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58

Portland Oregonian Marc Mohan

Politics and art come together in predictable, moderately enjoyable fashion in Paris 36.

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50

Washington Post Mike Mayo

A handsomely made French musical that never really soars.

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50

San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle

A little like spending the holidays with strangers. The spirits are high, the relationships are warm, the personal stories have a shared history, and even though you're on the outside of things, you appreciate the people in a remote and perhaps admiring sort of way. Still, when it's time to leave, you're not sorry.

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50

The Onion (A.V. Club) Keith Phipps

The overstuffed film lumbers across clichés of the heart and of history until it reaches a big, tune-filled climax that isn't worth the wait.

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50

New York Magazine David Edelstein

Hopelessly amateurish, the troupe is saved by a remarkably pretty young blonde called Douce with a sweet soprano to match her angel face. The gifted, unknown actress-singer who plays her, Nora Arnezeder, also saves the movie, which would otherwise blur into a mass of droopy, mustached, big-honkered Gallic character actors.

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50

Variety Eddie Cockrell

Schematically scripted tale revels in its multiple story arcs, but shows signs of battle fatigue in the later reels.

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40

The Hollywood Reporter Peter Brunette

The movie is almost rescued by the wonderful 1930's style songs (written by Reinhardt Wanger and Frank Thomas) that populate its final act.

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40

Chicago Reader Andrea Gronvall

The movie is essentially a pastiche, as musty as a flea market.

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38

Boston Globe Ethan Gilsdorf

In short, the financial crisis and social upheaval of 1930s France never looked so appealing.

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30

Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov

In the end, it's much ado about nothing. Oh, the ennui, the ennui.

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30

Village Voice Melissa Anderson

Like Amélie's scrubbed-up "City of Lights," Paris 36 is an antiseptic arthouse trifle, so eager to soothe that it only numbs.

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10

The New York Times A.O. Scott

So shameless in its pandering, sentimental vision of Frenchness as to constitute something of a national embarrassment.

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0

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

It's like a pastry that's been sitting on the shelf for 60 years.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this movie is 4.0 (out of 10) based on 1 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

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