An anthology of eighteen short films created by twenty directors, Paris, Je TAime takes its audience on a whistle-stop tour of the city and its inhabitants lives, jumping between genres to tell stories of love in the capital through comedy, drama, tragedy and fantasy. Originally intended to be made up of twenty shorts set in each of the twenty arrondissements (districts) of Paris, producer Claudie Ossard wished to remove two films from the final cut for reasons of flow. The decision to make these cuts caused a rift between her and her co-producer, Emmanuel Benbihy, which ended in slanging matches and lawsuits. Ossard got her way in the end and the version screened at Cannes contained just eighteen vignettes and ran at exactly two hours long, now structured around the capitals quarters and landmarks. Paris, Je TAimes strengths lie in its portrayal of the city as a huge melting pot - a place where culture and class collides, where people fall in and out love with one another and the city itself, somewhere that is far more than a picture postcard. Paris is alive, it breathes and this anthology gives audiences the opportunity to explore this, to see the city for the big, beautiful beast it is - all in quick, five minute bursts. There have been so many other examples of beautiful Parisian cinema. Let us know your favourite in the comments below.
