Paris Je T'Aime

The other night I watched Paris Je T'Aime again. Okay, I skipped over the segment where Elijah Wood gets bitten by a vampire but I watched the other 17 segments in their entirety including the weird one set in a Porte de Choisy beauty salon catering to an Asian clientele. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, let me back up. Paris Je T'Aime is a collection of 18 short films by world class directors and featuring world class talent. Each one is set in a different section of Paris and attempts to capture a slice of life in that location. They are funny, sweet, tender, heart wrenching, and sometimes a bit bizarre. There are archetypes and stereotypes and true originals plus the glorious views of Parisian rooftops including, naturally, the Eiffel Tower.

The first time I saw the film was in spring 2007, just after we'd learned that we'd be moving to Paris that August. It was a rush then and I still enjoy it now, even though I'm not yet able to watch it with the subtitles turned off. And though the pronounciation of the American woman who narrates the last scene is simply excruciating, I was always get teared up by her heartfelt sentiments. I don't own many movies but I'm happy to have this one on my shelf.