French Movie Screening: Paris, Je T'aime (Paris, I Love You) (2007) on 12th Mar 2008

MOVIE: Paris, Je T'aime (Paris, I Love You)
Venue: TR111 (Location : SS4-1-35)
Date: 12 Mar 08
Time: 7.00pm (Arrive latest by 7.15pm)

So please bring your friends along.

See you on Wednesday!

Cheers,
NTU French Society

Overview

Directors:

Olivier Assayas		(segment "Quartier des Enfants Rouges")
Frédéric Auburtin		(segment "Quartier Latin") (transitions)
Emmanuel Benbihy		(transitions)
Gurinder Chadha		(segment "Quais de Seine")
Sylvain Chomet		(segment "Tour Eiffel")
Ethan Coen		(segment "Tuileries")
Joel Coen		(segment "Tuileries")
Isabel Coixet		(segment "Bastille")
Wes Craven		(segment "Père-Lachaise")
Alfonso Cuarón		(segment "Parc Monceau")
Gérard Depardieu		(segment "Quartier Latin")
Christopher Doyle		(segment "Porte de Choisy")
Richard LaGravenese		(segment "Pigalle")
Vincenzo Natali		(segment "Quartier de la Madeleine")
Alexander Payne		(segment "14th arrondissement")
Bruno Podalydès		(segment "Montmartre")
Walter Salles		(segment "Loin du 16ème")
Oliver Schmitz		(segment "Place des Fêtes")
Nobuhiro Suwa		(segment "Place des Victoires")
Daniela Thomas		(segment "Loin du 16ème")
Tom Tykwer		(segment "Faubourg Saint-Denis")
Gus Van Sant		(segment "Le Marais")

Writers:

Tristan Carné		(idea)
Emmanuel Benbihy		(feature film concept and transitions)
Bruno Podalydès		(segment "Montmartre")
Paul Mayeda Berges		(segment "Quais de Seine") &
Gurinder Chadha		(segment "Quais de Seine")
Gus Van Sant		(segment "Le Marais")
Ethan Coen		(segment "Tuileries") &
Joel Coen		(segment "Tuileries")
Walter Salles		(segment "Loin du 16ème") &
Daniela Thomas		(segment "Loin du 16ème")
Christopher Doyle		(segment "Porte de Choisy") &
Gabrielle Keng		(segment "Porte de Choisy") &
Kathy Li		(segment "Porte de Choisy")
Isabel Coixet		(segment "Bastille")
Nobuhiro Suwa		(segment "Place des Victoires")
Sylvain Chomet		(segment "Tour Eiffel")
Alfonso Cuarón		(segment "Parc Monceau")
Olivier Assayas		(segment "Quartier des Enfants Rouges")
Oliver Schmitz		(segment "Place des Fêtes")
Richard LaGravenese		(segment "Pigalle")
Vincenzo Natali		(segment "Quartier de la Madeleine")
Wes Craven		(segment "Père-Lachaise")
Tom Tykwer		(segment "Faubourg Saint-Denis")
Gena Rowlands		(segment "Quartier Latin")
Nadine Eïd		(segment "14th arrondissement") &
Alexander Payne		(segment "14th arrondissement")

Cast：

	Florence Muller	...	Young Woman (segment "Montmartre")
	Hervé Pierre	...	Doctor (segment "Montmartre")
	Bruno Podalydès	...	Driver (segment 'Montmartre')
	Leïla Bekhti	...	Zarka (segment 'Quais de Seine')
	Julien Beramis	...	Arnaud (segment "Quais de Seine")
	Cyril Descours	...	François (segment 'Quais de Seine')
	Thomas Dumerchez	...	Manu (segment "Quais de Seine")
	Daniely Francisque	...	Black Girl #1 (segment "Quais de Seine")
	Audrey Fricot	...	Black Girl #2 (segment "Quais de Seine")
	Salah Teskouk	...	Zarka's Grandfather (segment "Quais de Seine")
	Christian Bramsen	...	Printer (segment "Le Marais")
	Marianne Faithfull	...	Marianne (segment 'Le Marais')
	Elias McConnell	...	Elie (segment 'Le Marais')
	Gaspard Ulliel	...	Gaspard (segment 'Le Marais')
	Julie Bataille	...	Julie (segment 'Tuileries')
	Steve Buscemi	...	The Tourist (segment "Tuileries")
	Gulliver Hecq	...	Child in the Metro (segment "Tuileries")
	Axel Kiener	...	Axel (segment 'Tuileries')
	Frankie Pain	...	Mother in the Metro (segment "Tuileries")
	Marina Moncade	...	Bourgeoise Mother (segment "Loin du 16ème")
	Catalina Sandino Moreno	...	Ana (segment 'Loin du 16ème')
	Aurélien Blain-King	...	Buddhist (segment "Porte de Choisy")
	Xing Xing Cheng	...	Old Chinese Woman (segment "Porte de Choisy")
	Hélène Patarot	...	Chinese Woman with Make-Up (segment "Porte de Choisy")
	Barbet Schroeder	...	Monsieur Henny (segment 'Porte de Choisy')
	Li Xin	...	Madame Li (segment 'Porte de Choisy')
	Javier Cámara	...	The Doctor (segment "Bastille")
	Sergio Castellitto	...	The Husband (segment "Bastille")
	Emilie Ohana	...	Léah (segment "Bastille")
	Miranda Richardson	...	The Wife (segment "Bastille")
	Leonor Watling	...	The Mistress (segment "Bastille")
	Juliette Binoche	...	Suzanne (segment "Place des Victoires")
	Martin Combes	...	Justin (segment "Place des Victoires")
	Willem Dafoe	...	The Cowboy (segment "Place des Victoires")
	Hippolyte Girardot	...	The Father (segment "Place des Victoires")
	Roxane Pelicier	...	Isis (segment "Place des Victoires")
	Dylan Gomong	...	Little Jean-Claude (segment "Tour Eiffel")
	Emmanuel Layotte	...	Café Waiter (segment "Tour Eiffel")
	Madeleine Malroux	...	Woman #1 in Café (segment "Tour Eiffel")
	Simone Malroux	...	Woman #2 in Café (segment "Tour Eiffel")
	Yolande Moreau	...	Female Mime (segment "Tour Eiffel")
	Isabelle Patey	...	Policewoman (segment "Tour Eiffel")
	Paul Putner	...	Male Mime (segment "Tour Eiffel")
	Sara Martins	...	Sara (segment 'Parc Monceau')
	Nick Nolte	...	Vincent (segment 'Parc Monceau')
	Ludivine Sagnier	...	Claire (segment 'Parc Monceau')
	Lionel Dray	...	Ken (segment 'Quartier des Enfants Rouges')
	Maggie Gyllenhaal	...	Liz (segment 'Quartier des Enfants Rouges')
	Joana Preiss	...	Joana (segment 'Quartier des Enfants Rouges')
	Seydou Boro	...	Hassan (segment 'Place des Fêtes')
	Aïssa Maïga	...	Sophie (segment 'Place des Fêtes')
	Fanny Ardant	...	Fanny Forestier (segment 'Pigalle')
	Bob Hoskins	...	Bob Leander (segment 'Pigalle')
	Olga Kurylenko	...	The Vampire (segment "Quartier de la Madeleine")
	Elijah Wood	...	The Tourist (segment "Quartier de la Madeleine")
	Emily Mortimer	...	Frances (segment 'Père-Lachaise')
	Alexander Payne	...	Oscar Wilde (segment 'Père-Lachaise')
	Rufus Sewell	...	William (segment 'Père-Lachaise')
	Melchior Beslon	...	Thomas (segment 'Faubourg Saint-Denis')
	Natalie Portman	...	Francine (segment 'Faubourg Saint-Denis')
	Gérard Depardieu	...	Café Owner (segment "Quartier Latin")
	Ben Gazzara	...	Ben (segment 'Quartier Latin')
	Gena Rowlands	...	Gena (segment 'Quartier Latin')
	Margo Martindale	...	Carol (segment "14ème Arrondissement")

Release Date: 22 February 2007 (Singapore)
Genre: Romance
Tagline: Stories of Love. From the City of Love.
Plot Outline: Through the neighborhoods of Paris, love is veiled, revealed, imitated, sucked dry, reinvented and awakened.
Plot Keywords: City Name In Title / Directed By Several Directors / Anthology / Collective / Paris

Paris I Love You is a two-hour cinematic tribute to the city of Paris, four years in the making, told through a series of short vignettes (each approximately five minutes) as directed by an international slate of esteemed directors and actors. Each short film takes place in one of the arrondisements (municipal boroughs) of Paris, and though 20 of them exist, and were filmed, only 18 of them made the film's final cut (the two efforts not included were made by directors Christopher Boe and Raphael Nadjari due to problems working them in thematically). The filmmakers contacted were told that they could make any kind of short film that they wanted, with the only stipulation that the subject matter took place in their particular arrondisement and had to do with love (though not necessarily romantic love).

Initially, twenty short films representing the twenty arrondissements of Paris were planned, but two of them (the XVe arrondissement, directed by Christoffer Boe, and the XIe arrondissement, by Raphaël Nadjari) were not included in the final film because they could not be properly integrated into it.[citation needed] Each arrondissement is followed by a few images of Paris; these transition sequences were written by Emmanuel Benbihy and directed by Benbihy with Frédéric Auburtin. Including Benbihy, there were 22 directors involved in the finished film.

The 18 arrondissements are:

Montmartre (XVIIIe arrondissement) — by French writer-director Bruno Podalydès. A man (played by Podalydès himself) parks his car on a Montmartre street and muses about how the women passing by his car all seem to be "taken". Then a woman passerby (Florence Muller) faints near his car, and he comes to her aid.

Quais de Seine (Ve arrondissement) — made by the husband-and-wife team of American screenwriter Paul Mayeda Berges and Indian-British director Gurinder Chadha. A young man (Cyril Descours), hanging out with two friends who taunt all women who walk by, strikes up a friendship with a young Muslim woman (Leïla Bekhti).

Le Marais (IVe arrondissement) — by American writer-director Gus Van Sant. A young male customer (Gaspard Ulliel) finds himself attracted to a young printshop worker (Elias McConnell) and tries to explain that he believes the man to be his soulmate, not realizing that he speaks little French. Marianne Faithfull also appears briefly in the film.

Tuileries (Ier arrondissement) — by American writer-directors Joel and Ethan Coen. A comic film in which an American tourist (Steve Buscemi) waiting at the Tuileries station becomes involved in the conflict between a young couple (Axel Kiener and Julie Bataille) after he breaks the cardinal rule of avoiding eye contact with people on the Paris Metro.

Loin du 16e (XVIe arrondissement; literally: "far from the 16th") — by Brazilian writer-directors Walter Salles and Daniela Thomas. A young woman (Catalina Sandino Moreno) sings a Spanish lullaby ("Que Linda Manito") to her baby before leaving it in a daycare. She then takes an extremely long commute to the home of her wealthy employer (whose face is not seen), where she sings the same lullaby to her employer's baby.

Porte de Choisy (XIIIe arrondissement) — directed by Australian director Christopher Doyle and written by Doyle with Gabrielle Keng and Kathy Li. A comic film in which a beauty products salesman (Barbet Schroeder) makes a call on a Chinatown salon run by a woman (Li Xin) who proves to be a tough customer.

Bastille (XIIe arrondissement) — by Spanish writer-director Isabel Coixet. Prepared to leave his marriage for a much younger lover (Leonor Watling), a man (Sergio Castellitto) instead decides to stay with his wife (Miranda Richardson) after she reveals a terminal illness - and rediscovers the love he once felt for her.

Place des Victoires (IIe arrondissement) — by Japanese writer-director Nobuhiro Suwa. A mother (Juliette Binoche), grieving over the death of her little boy (Martin Combes), is comforted by a magical cowboy (Willem Dafoe).

Tour Eiffel (VIIe arrondissement) — a live action film written and directed by French animator Sylvain Chomet. A boy tells how his parents, both mime artists (Paul Putner and Yolande Moreau), meet in prison and fall in love.

Parc Monceau (XVIIe arrondissement) — by Mexican writer-director Alfonso Cuarón. An older man (Nick Nolte) and younger woman (Ludivine Sagnier) meet for an arrangement that a third person ('Gaspard'), who is close to the woman, may not approve of. It is eventually revealed that the young woman is his daughter, and Gaspard is her baby. The film was shot in a single continuous shot. When the characters walk by a video store, several posters of movies by the other directors of Paris, je t'aime are visible in the window.

Quartier des Enfants Rouges (IIIe arrondissement) — by French writer-director Olivier Assayas. An American actress (Maggie Gyllenhaal) procures some exceptionally strong hashish from a dealer (Lionel Dray).

Place des fêtes (XIXe arrondissement) — by German writer-director Oliver Schmitz. An African man (Seydou Boro), dying from a stab wound in the Place des fêtes asks a woman paramedic (Aïssa Maïga) for a cup of coffee. It is then revealed that he had fallen in love at first sight with her some time previously. By the time she remembers him, and has received the coffee, he has passed.

Pigalle (IXe arrondissement) — by American writer-director Richard LaGravenese. An aging couple (Bob Hoskins and Fanny Ardant) act out a fantasy argument for a prostitute in order to keep the spark in their relationship.

Quartier de la Madeleine (VIIIe arrondissement) — by Canadian writer-director Vincenzo Natali. A young backpacker tourist (Elijah Wood) falls in love with a vampiress (Olga Kurylenko).

Père-Lachaise (XXe arrondissement) — by American writer-director Wes Craven. While visiting Père Lachaise Cemetery, a young woman (Emily Mortimer) breaks up with her fiancé (Rufus Sewell), who then redeems himself with the aid of advice from the ghost of Oscar Wilde (Alexander Payne).

Faubourg Saint-Denis (Xe arrondissement) — by German writer-director Tom Tykwer. After mistakenly believing that his girlfriend, a struggling actress, has broken up with him, a young blind man (Melchior Beslon) reflects on the growth and seeming decline of his relationship with the actress (Natalie Portman).

Quartier Latin (VIe arrondissement) — written by American actress Gena Rowlands, directed by French actor Gérard Depardieu and French director Frédéric Auburtin. A separated couple (Ben Gazzara and Rowlands) meet at a bar (run by Depardieu) for one last drink before the two officially divorce.

14e arrondissement (XIVe arrondissement) — written and directed by Alexander Payne. An American woman tourist (Margo Martindale), a letter carrier from Denver, Colorado on her first European holiday, recites in rough French what she loves about Paris.

In Paris, love is everywhere.

In its bars and cafes. Under the Eiffel Tower. Even in the Metro that runs under its streets. In Paris, I Love You , prepare to see the city in a way you've never before imagined.

For Paris, I Love You , a host of international directors was asked to write and direct a five-minute film illustrating the timeless theme of romance, as it might be experienced, in one of the 20 neighborhoods of the city.

Paris has a rich cinematographic history but, rather than looking back, the aim of everyone involved was to show the city as it is today, to get away from the ‘picture postcard' idea of Paris and reveal aspects of the capital as never seen on the big screen. It portrays a diverse mix of social classes, generations, cultures and atmospheres.

The majority of the directors involved in the project are not natives of Paris and their films consequently capture both the reality of contemporary Paris and something of the enchantment one feels as a foreigner visiting the city. Their curiosity led them to corners of the city that their French-born counterparts might not have thought to explore. Their take on Paris will surprise even those who know the city well, whilst reaffirming its status as the city de l'amour.

Reference：
http://www.qwipster.net/parisjetaime.html
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0401711/
http://movies.nytimes.com/2007/05/04/movies/04pari.html
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/paris_je_taime/

Any enquiries, please contact Lang Shuang @ 92300235 & LANG0003@ntu.edu.sg