Life Is a Stage in "Paris"
August 18th 2009 08:29
Paris through the eyes of a dying man.
Paris passes slowly by.
Paris is supposed to be a place where you just sit back and watch the world go by. It's where you're supposed to forget the life you got used to and be immersed in one where you do nothing but relax, be inspired, and enjoy the good life - bon vivant! It's a romantic idea and universal in its appeal. Film director and writer Cédric Klapisch attempts to captures this appeal in a film that does not attempt to lecture or teach, but nevertheless, may succeed in doing so by showing Paris and the lives of a handful of it's people through the eyes of a dying man - an ironic choice.
Paris is the story of not just of one Parisian, but many and how their lives interweave and create small stories that go together like a collection in a book ideally read on a warm summer day. It's the kind of movie that echoes lulling French songs that mesmerize and titillate you with images of stereotypical French life. The movie is the kind of entertainment you'd like to experience when you have nothing to worry about except for the cup of tea in your hand getting cold.
Klapsich gives you the ultimate experience of life in Paris as people would wish it to be. His use of a dying man's point of view gives the events and situations a life that would otherwise go unnoticed if presented from the perspective of someone absorbed in his own life. A dying man's resignation to his fate is used as a vehicle by Klapsich that takes his audience to a transcendental level of experience almost akin to a lucid dream where you know you're safe and can simply enjoy the ride.
Watching Paris would make anyone who lives in Paris take a second look at the usual surroundings and see them in a different light, becoming a tourist at home. For the foreigners, it's one delightful reinforcement of how they envision Paris to be in their hearts and minds and enhances their experience of the city. For those who ever wish to be in Paris but cannot, it's one escape that's worth watching over and over, never mind if it's in French and with subtitles. Do watch this movie if you wish to be a tourist in Paris.
Paris stars Juliet Binoche and Romain Duris.
Paris is the story of not just of one Parisian, but many and how their lives interweave and create small stories that go together like a collection in a book ideally read on a warm summer day. It's the kind of movie that echoes lulling French songs that mesmerize and titillate you with images of stereotypical French life. The movie is the kind of entertainment you'd like to experience when you have nothing to worry about except for the cup of tea in your hand getting cold.
Klapsich gives you the ultimate experience of life in Paris as people would wish it to be. His use of a dying man's point of view gives the events and situations a life that would otherwise go unnoticed if presented from the perspective of someone absorbed in his own life. A dying man's resignation to his fate is used as a vehicle by Klapsich that takes his audience to a transcendental level of experience almost akin to a lucid dream where you know you're safe and can simply enjoy the ride.
Watching Paris would make anyone who lives in Paris take a second look at the usual surroundings and see them in a different light, becoming a tourist at home. For the foreigners, it's one delightful reinforcement of how they envision Paris to be in their hearts and minds and enhances their experience of the city. For those who ever wish to be in Paris but cannot, it's one escape that's worth watching over and over, never mind if it's in French and with subtitles. Do watch this movie if you wish to be a tourist in Paris.
Paris stars Juliet Binoche and Romain Duris.
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