Paris, je t'aime (2006)

The conceptual predecessor to New York, I Love You, Paris, je t’aime is about relationships and love in the city of Paris. Each vignette of this film is named for the neighborhood in which it takes place. Transitions between each story are abrupt, marked only by a cut and an unobtrusive title appearing in one corner of the frame, which tells you which neighborhood you’re now in. There is ample quiet time at the beginning and end of each short to allow you to reflect on what you’ve seen.

Storylines run the gamut between a mother dealing with the loss of her child to mimes making eyes at each other in a jail cell. All different kinds of love, all different kinds of relationships, and all different kinds of people. Hopefully something for everyone.

I liked Paris, je t’aime more than New York, I Love You. I don’t know if it was the French language, the city it was set in, or just the construction of the film itself. But something about the former made the latter look a little like a cheap imitation in my eyes. Not so much that it was completely invalidated, but just enough to make me really appreciate the original.

You’ll have to see for yourself. Definitely worth watching.