Paris, Je T'aime

Love it. Along with inducing some genuine laughs, Paris Je T'aime really made me want to go to Paris. Then again just hearing the word "merde" can make me want to go to Paris, so maybe that doesn't mean much.

Paris Je T'taime is a compilation of eighteen short films that take place in Paris. Some are by famous directors, like the Coen brothers, Wes Craven and Gus Van Sant, others are by lesser known directors. But nearly every short was more entertaining or inspiring than many of the full length movies I've seen this year. And I could watch the stories in the span of three days and not miss a beat because I was never cutting any of them off.

The stories were about love of one form or another. Romantic love, parental love, love lost, then gained, love of the city. Some were ingenious in their ability to tell so much in so little time. Some held mysteries, but only for so long as it took to tell a 5-minute story. You only had to hold your breath for a fleeting moment before a satisfying exhale.

With a well-known cast (including Juliette Binoche, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Steve Buscemi, among others) a few of the shorts were sure to be hits, while a few others fell flat. For instance the one with Nick Nolte was uncomfortable to watch simply because he acted like he'd just downed a handful of pills and three carafes de vin rouge. But the one with Binoche was so heartbreaking I had to stop the movie at the end of that story and bawl silently at my son's bedside. I love movies that make you do stuff like that. It's such a release.

Could be a date movie, or just something a little different, but with heavy doses of instant gratification.