FILMBRATS - REVIEWS

Filmmakers from around the world come together to pay tribute to the City of Lights. Eighteen of the twenty arrondissements (neighborhoods/areas) are represented and presented by eighteen different directors (or directing teams). Each segment features an entirely new cast of characters and takes on the subject of love (hence the “je t’aime” of the title, which translates to “I love you”). You’ll see the whole spectrum as characters fall in love, fall out of love, rediscover and rekindle love, hopelessly search for love and more. Whether it’s love between strangers, family members, the city itself or whatever the case may be, there’s no escaping the fact that this film has mimes in it.

Wait, wait. No, for once that’s a good thing – one of the many good things going for this collection of filmed love letters. Leave it to Sylvain Chomet (‘The Triplets of Belleville”) to make a mime likable for possibly the first time ever. But that’s just one of the several great stories told throughout the two hour running time. It’s great to see each director, who is credited at the start of his/her/their section, bring their style and flavor to the five-to-ten minute shorts. The Coen brothers pair up with a non-verbal Steve Buscemi for a wonderfully quirky subway adventure, Tom Tykwer re-titles his fast-moving, narrated short “True” starring Natalie Portman, Alfonso Cuaron does something typically amazing with a twist with Nick Nolte no less, and Gus Van Sant does the homosexual thing with no recognizable American actors.

But the best segment of them all is the very last one. Alexander Payne brings us along as Carol (Margo Martindale) narrates her travelogue. It’s longer than most of the rest, but well worth it, because not only is it hilarious, but also quite touching. She starts off as your typical American tourist, going to all the hot spots in the city, mispronouncing French words by painfully enunciating every syllable. Then as we quickly get to know her character, she’s given depth and honesty and almost becomes the voice of the picture in a way. It was a perfect way to close it out. I was a little worried when the film kept going, tacking on a completely unnecessary, but not horrible epilogue. Luckily it didn’t detract from the overall experience.

I would say if anything did, it was the extremely strange segment starring Barbet Schroeder (a director that chose to act). It’s not really worth my time to go into it further other than to say it was terrible and doesn’t belong with the rest of these stories. The other 17 range from decent to great, which puts the overall package at a high level. They don’t try to do too much and with so many cooks using their own pots, it never feels repetitive or boring. Paris looks beautiful throughout the entire picture, and it’s easy to see why someone would have the idea to make this picture. The film, like the city, is simply inspiring.

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