Film: Paris
Release date: 2nd February 2009
Certificate: 15
Running time: 125 mins
Director: Cedric Klapisch
Starring: Juliette Binoche, Romain Duris, Fabrice Luchini, Albert Dupontel, Mélanie Laurent
Genre: Comedy/Drama/Romance
Studio: Optimum
Format: DVD
Country: France
César Award Nominee Cédric Klapisch pays homage to his home city in this 2008 ensemble feature, focusing on a diverse group of characters living in Paris. Klapisch intermittently observes and intertwines the lives of various inhabitants of the City of Love, and whilst illustrating an ever-unfulfilled society, ponders the motivations behind humanity’s desire to survive.
The film opens with and centres on Pierre (Romain Duris), a cabaret dancer who is told by his cardiologist that he will require a heart transplant if he is to have even a chance of surviving. Pierre’s heart condition leads him to reflect upon his life, his passions, and those transient moments which are so effortlessly taken for granted.
Refined to his apartment, Pierre observes the lives of the people wandering in the city below. It is this pastime which provokes Pierre to evaluate his own experiences, and to develop a true appreciation for those which made him feel the most happy and alive.
With his concerned sister, Élise (Juliette Binoche), caring for him, Pierre keeps himself occupied by watching those in the city below live their lives. When he is feeling up to it, Pierre takes walks outside, and crosses paths with those he has observed from above.
Inevitably, Pierre longs to dance, to run, and to make love to beautiful women as he once did. This regret and appetite for life leads him to encourage his sister to take more chances in life, rather than being so persistently pessimistic, like much of the Parisian society…
In a similar style to Paris Je t’aime, the film doesn’t purport that Paris is merely the city of romance, and proceed to spin its audience a clichéd yarn of happily ever after relationships. Instead, the film illustrates the different effects that love and sex can have on those involved, and analyses how different people approach the subject under different circumstances.
Klapisch is able to capture some of those rare moments which illustrate the frailty of human life, the beauty and the heart-ache of love, and the never sufficiently appreciated moments that pass us by too quickly. Nevertheless, Paris, much like the idealised city itself, and the often selfish and ignorant characters on display here, is beautiful but flawed.
There are some undeniably talented actors on display here, and the characters which they portray are worthy of far more screen time than can be afforded to them in one production. Indeed, some of the characters and sub-plots are so beguiling that Klapisch might have devoted a full script entirely to their cause.
Sadly, however, this is not the case, and Klapisch fails to develop upon any one character enough to leave viewers thoroughly satisfied, yet wanting more. Instead, the audience are left ever so slightly disappointed. Whether or not it is Klapisch’s intention to leave the audience, like many of his characters here, confused and unfulfilled, condensing the plots and saturating the number of characters would have been better avoided.
For instance, whilst being the focal point of the film, Pierre is not developed upon thoroughly enough for the audience to fully empathise with him and his changing perceptions towards life and people. It is evident that Pierre is a charismatic young man, and that he enjoyed his life as a cabaret dancer before his heart condition developed, but the fact that we see him so infrequently, and are given only a minor insight into his life, reduces the effect that his character should have on the audience.
This disassociation from Pierre is most evident in the closing scene, where Pierre appears almost resentful towards society for being so melancholic, and for not embracing life fully. The final words with which the audience are left are clearly intended to leave a lasting impression on the viewer, and yet the impact of this dialogue is diminished by our lack of understanding of Pierre, and how he lived his life prior to his illness. To Duris’ credit, he utilises his screen time well, and provides a convincing portrayal of a reflective young man, burdened with the fear of an imminent death. It is a shame, though, that his role is minimised by the inclusion of unnecessary excess characters.
Similarly, Elise (Binoche) serves as a further example of how Klapisch’s attempt to encompass such a broad scope of characters falls just short of the mark. Elise is a caring and selfless social worker, who despite her own problems at work and in her personal life, wants only to help her dying brother. Again, though, whilst the audience will certainly be grateful that Binoche’s natural beauty and captivating portrayal graces this production, they will undoubtedly be left with a sense of longing. The conclusion to Elise’s story, in particular, feels rushed and unconvincing, as if written merely as a convenient way to tie up some lose ends.
Roland Verneuil (Fabrice Luchini) is perhaps the most intriguing and complex character of all, and certainly the most bizarre. An expert in the history of Paris, teaching at the former University of Paris, Sorbonne, he becomes besotted by the young and beautiful Laetitia (Mélanie Laurent). This leads at first to panic attacks and a sudden change of job, quickly followed by an unlikely affair, which begins as a somewhat cringe-worthy and creepy stalking by Roland. This relationship sparks excitement in Roland, and causes him to act almost like a teenager, encountering his first love.
Again, though, this is a story that could be told all on its own, without the distracting interruptions of the other ongoing plots. Luchini, as with much of the cast, is a worthy addition to the production and certainly offers up many laughs and awkward moments, but it is his last dialogue that will impact most upon the audience.
It isn’t just the characters that suffer, however, as some of the peripheral subject matter of the film is too quickly brushed over. This lack of development of such topics ultimately means that they are put to the back of the viewer’s minds, and become almost pointless touching upon in the first place. For example, Khadija, a student of North African origin, takes a job working for a bigoted owner of a bakery, who nevertheless likes her for the simple reason that she works hard. This plot is barely developed at all, and would be better left for another project, rather than diverting away from the more prominent storylines.
Similarly, the story of Benoit (Kingsley Kum Abang), a resort worker in Cameroon, seems to have been thrown in only as an afterthought by Klapisch. Benoit is a somewhat misguided man who risks his life crossing the Straights of Gibraltar in an attempt to reach his brother, and a beautiful acquaintance, in Paris. Unfortunately, this rather serious and harrowing subject matter is turned into an almost redundant storyline, as it is thrown into the caldron of plots and picked out on too few occasions to have any real impact on the audience.
The splendid views of Paris and the inclusion of such tourist highlights as the Sacre Coeur, the Eiffel Tower and the Bastille are aesthetically beautiful, but occasionally make this feel like an advertisement for the city, pieced together by the Office du Tourisme. Like Woody Allen’s Manhattan, there’s a seeming intention to draw people to the city, as well as to provoke nostalgia, and remind those already living there why it is so romanticised. Klapisch, however, does not reach the same heights or achieve the same outcome as Allen did with Manhattan, nor which Klapisch himself has done in the past with films such as When the Cat’s Away or Russian Dolls.
Despite the film’s shortfalls, however, the audience will ultimately be rewarded for taking the time to view what is on offer. The film doesn’t apologise for sending out a clichéd message, and this is evident from the opening credits. Wax Taylor’s ‘Seize The Day’ is played to set the tone for the movie, and this carpe diem theme is wholly embraced and continued through to the film’s conclusion. The lyrics are echoed to the audience in the final scene and closing credits, leaving the audience with a familiar, but important message.
Paris is a film which offers nothing new in terms of its cardinal message to the audience, and certainly it suffers for its attempt to abbreviate the stories of too many fascinating characters into one sitting. Yet, there are some genuinely funny, bizarre and heartfelt moments to be shared here, and with the aid of some polished performances from a beautifully diverse cast, the audience could almost be forgiven for casting a shadow over the movie’s faults. TMO
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