Paris je t'aime is truly a breath of fresh air. Many modern American movies are thick with plot, drama and action just for sake of having a discernible 'wow' factor, but Paris je t'aime is a clever little movie that is really just a combination of short love stories that take place within Paris--ranging anywhere from divorce, to monster love, to love of a child.
It was great to go to a movie and not have to invest so much of myself to it. The stories are so diverse that you really get to experience a wide variety of lives and situations, a few of which are bound to touch you in some way.
The collection of vignettes features notable sketches with many well-known actors--some of them taking their hand at directing. Nearly each vignette is either pleasant or moving on its own, and together it's a wonderful showcase in Paris.
Most features composed of sketches by different filmmakers are wildly uneven. This one is consistently mediocre or slightly better, albeit pleasant and watchable. It helps that none of the episodes runs longer than five or six minutes.
There isn't one vignette that deserves more than a seven (many of them deserve less), but "Paris Je T'aime" none the less is frothy fun to be had which lets us observe the City of Lights with a certain beauty you don't see too often in French films. Featuring wonderful American (and English) actors, like Natalie Portman, Willem Dafoe, Emily Mortimer, etc., French actors Fanny Ardant, Ludivine Sagnier, Juliette Binoche, etc., and a bevy of fine directors like the Coen Brothers, Wes Craven, Tom Twyker, etc., "Paris Je T'aime" is always interesting because you never know what to expect.
This movie consists of 18 short films. Each is linked to a different district (arrondissement) of Paris and deals with love or relationships. Each story is not related to any other, has different directors and actors. There are some big names in the movie like Wes Craven, Bob Hoskins, Gerard Depardieu, Elijah Wood or Natalie Portman to name a few. The main problem is that not all stories are equally good. While for some I would give a 10/10 others I would skip without a second thought. I think I praise my favorite short films from this movie and say this include the directors and actors there. I must point out that I see no real garbage entry or huge misstep in this regard. My favorites were “Bastille” as it shows how a single thing can change everything and that the past is never truly forgotten. “Quartier de Madelaine” for the uniqueness, visual style and conclusion. “Pere-Lachaise” for the idea, character Oscar and outcome. “Pigalle” for the actors and final twist. As sidenote: This is how you can subvert expectations in a nice way. “Places des fetes” for the beautiful sad story and emotions. “Tour Eiffel” for the humor and ideas. “Quais de Seine” but it fells more like the beginning for a bigger story I would like to see. “Loin du 16e” for this interesting short film that gave me a lot to think. Those are 8 out of 18 I truly liked. Sadly that means I have to give a lower rating to be fair. Overall I enjoyed this movie and idea to make a short film for each district. They continued this with New York and Berlin. Like I said not everything is excellent. I give a 6/10 but say there are 10/10 episodes in this movie.