SCREEN
SIX DEGREES OF JULIETTE BINOCHE New French film connects a city full of dots JEREMIAH ROBERT WIERENGA Stop me if you’ve seen this one already: a singly titled film picturing multiple intersecting stories starring an acclaimed cast of Juliette Binoche is the apple of viewers’ eyes in Cedric Klapisch’s Paris. talents. No, it’s not a political thriller a la Traffic (2000) or Syriana (2005), and it isn’t It’s sometimes difficult to view variegated the film contains an abundance of familset in Los Angeles, like Magnolia (1999) works such as Paris without feeling a bit iar, picturesque locations—sometimes or Crash (2004). And it’s not Wonderland cheated. Certain characters and story lines, intrusively inserted—and doesn’t have (1999 and 2003). The film in question is unless balanced very carefully against the Paris, director Cedric Klapisch’s melanchol- the hard-hitting punch of many similarly rest, feel truncated, spurious or unnecessary. structured films, it isn’t an unblemished ic tableau of Parisian lives. Pierre’s story is genuinely the heart of the ode. These are real Parisians, their joys The film focuses on the high-rise surveiland annoyances, break-ups and make-ups film, but the overlong treatment of Roland’s lance of housebound former dancer Pierre mid-life crisis sours in the last 40 minutes. elevating the film above an unabashed (Romain Duris), who awaits a heart transBinoche gives excellent support but leaves travelogue. Its replant while visually currently ramshack- the film dimmer when she is off-screen. tailing the people le quality is partially Duris—who ironically starred in a film below. This generPARIS (R) explained in Pierre’s entitled The Beat That My Heart Skipped ous cross-section of Directed by Cedric Klapisch (2005)—is a great talent, while Laurent, the final discourse on humanity includes Stars Romain Duris, Juliette Binoche, striking surprise of Inglourious Basterds the French disposia shrewish bakery Fabrice Luchini tion. “No one’s ever (2009), gives a mature, insinuatingly charmowner (Karin Viard), Now playing at The Flicks ing performance. With a few over-expressive happy. We grumlecherous profesble,” he muses. “We moments and an occasionally buffoonish sor Roland (Fabrice story line, only Luchini’s character felt love that.” Luchini), whose extraneous, while many of the smaller subLike the curmudgeonly attitudes of the infatuation with student Laetitia (Melanie plots deserved further treatment. characters, Klapisch’s lens seems drawn to Laurent) is mildly returned, and Elise (JuThe currently in-vogue vein of multithe less-than-perfect parts of Paris: an overliette Binoche), Pierre’s social-worker sister plot movies has brought forth a mixed flowing garbage bin, a meat market’s cold who moves in—with her three children—to bag of results. In the case of Paris, we’re storage. But he transforms this ugliness care for him during his convalescence. Alintroduced to many fine French actors and into something human and beautiful, mothough these characters differ in economic treated to a pleasant reminder of human ments of emotional elevation in the midst and social status, Klapisch (who also wrote kinship. Conversely, we’re left discontented the screenplay) examines the minute connec- of bottom-floor conditions. He’s a clever by the simplicity of the “we’re all connecttions that tie together the bustling humanity director, opposing esoteric CGI dream ed” message and the unresolved story lines. sequences with wide-angle cityscapes and of this major metropolis. These elaborately interwoven tales are more larkish dance numbers. Although clocking Although ostensibly a cinematic love gimmick than genre. As with any clever in at more than two hours, the inventive letter to the titular city, Paris is a shoddy conceit, it’s good once or twice, but grows editing and poppy soundtrack keep the sort of valentine, one smeared with glue old quickly. pace moving. stains and edged in tattered lace. While
SCREEN/LISTINGS opening NEW YORK, I LOVE YOU—Eleven directors teamed up to present an 80-minute film broken into eight 10-minute segments. Based on the idea of Paris, I Love You, this film introduces viewers into the wondrous and vibrant beats of New York City through snippets. (R) Flicks
NINJA ASSASSIN— As young boy, Raizo (Korean pop star Rain) is orphaned and must fight to sur vive among his fellow castaways; scarred and battered, he doesn’t break. Raised to become a ninja assassin, a betrayal pits him against the ver y clan he was raised to protect. Directed by James McTiegue (V for Vendetta),
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this is a bloody, actionpacked flick. (R) Edwards 9, Edwards 22 OLD DOGS—The director of Wild Hogs revisits the theme of old guys tr ying to stay young. Best friends and business par tners Dan (Robin Williams) and Charlie (John Travolta) are faced with the challenge of raising children while simultaneously embarking
on the biggest business deal of their career. It’s a lot of cliches and a little bit of mildly funny Disney humor. (PG) Edwards 9, Edwards 22 YOU THE LIVING—In this dark, absurd comedy by Swedish director Roy Andersson, a large woman wearing a shiny military helmet rides naked atop a thin prone man; a tiny
gent with a bouquet of right orange flowers rings the bell of a dingy door; and a girl dreams she marries Micke Larsson, guitar player for the Black Devils, and they wave goodbye to well wishers standing at the platform as their apartment building pulls out of the station. The New York Times calls this film “slow, rigorously morose and often
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| NOVEMBER 25 – DECEMBER 1, 2009 | 33