Twenty acclaimed filmmakers from around the world look at love in the City of Lights in this omnibus feature.
Paris, Je T'Aime features 18 short stories, each set in a different part of Paris and each featuring a different cast and director (two segments were produced by two filmmakers in collaboration). In "Faubourg Saint-Denis,"
Tom Tykwer directs
Natalie Portman as an American actress who is the object of affection for a blind student (
Melchior Belson).
Christopher Doyle's "Porte de Choisy" follows a salesman (
Barbet Schroeder) as he tries to pitch beauty aids in Chinatown.
Nick Nolte and
Ludivine Sagnier are father and daughter in "Parc Monceau" from
Alfonso Cuarón. Animator
Sylvain Chomet turns his eye to a pair of living, breathing mimes in "Tour Eiffel." An interracial romance in France is offered by
Gurinder Chadha in "Quais de Seine." In "Le Marais" from
Gus Van Sant, a man (
Gaspard Ulliel) finds himself falling for a handsome gent (
Elias McConnell) who works in a print shop.
Isabel Coixet tells the tale of a man (
Sergio Castellitto) who is making his final choice between his wife (
Miranda Richardson) and his lover (
Leonor Watling) in "Bastille."
Juliette Binoche plays a grieving mother in
Nobuhiro Suwa's "Place des Victoires," in which she's greeted by a spectral cowboy (
Willem Dafoe).
Richard LaGravanese's "Pigalle" finds a long-married man (
Bob Hoskins) turning to a prostitute for advice on pleasing his wife (
Fanny Ardant).
Gérard Depardieu and
Frédéric Auburtin direct
Gena Rowlands and
Ben Gazzara as longtime marrieds meeting for one final pre-divorce encounter in "Quartier Latin."
Steve Buscemi learns a lesson about local etiquette in the Paris Metro in "Tuileries" from
Joel and
Ethan Coen. In "Loin du 16ème" by
Walter Salles, a housekeeper (
Catalina Sandino Moreno) longs for her own child as she tends to the infant of her wealthy employer.
Elijah Wood stars in "Quartier de la Madeleine," a vampire tale from
Vincenzo Natali.
Wes Craven presents another fantasy in "Père-Lachaise," in which an engaged young man (
Rufus Sewell) receives romantic advice from the spirit of
Oscar Wilde (
Alex Payne). A postal worker from Colorado (
Margo Martindale) shares her thoughts on her visit to Paris in mangled French in
Alexander Payne's witty "14th Arrondissement." Other segments include "Place des Fêtes" from
Oliver Schmitz,
Bruno Podalydès' "Montmartre," and "Quartier des Enfants Rouges" by
Olivier Assayas, which stars
Maggie Gyllenhaal.
Paris, Je T'Aime received its world premiere at the
2006 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide