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Paris, Je T'Aime (DVD)
by Decanus
Ever since a school trip in the late 80's, I've had a bit of a love affair with Paris. I find it such a fascinating place, especially as, unlike London (which I dearly love as well), it has kept its personality. It has the most amazing arts and culture there, and is stunning to see at night. But that is the idealised Paris we all ... see....
Paris, Je T'Aime was developed as a really interesting idea, to have 20 short films inspired by the 20 arrondissements of Paris (sort of like districts or small boroughs), with each story inspired by, and relevant to, a specific arrondissement. Each would have its own star(s) and directors. As it turned out, the final film only had 18 stories, as 2 of the stories just couldn't be integrated in properly apparently (not sure why though; quality? not ready in time? never really explained).
As you would expect from any anthology, the stories are a mish-mash of theme, quality, and tone, but what makes them especially noteworthy is each is just about 5 minutes long. A lot of work has to be put into a 5 minute vignette to make it memorable. Obviously, for space reasons, I can't do an in depth write up of each tale, but a quick snapshot of the best and worst will hopefully give you a taster...
My personal favourite stories are:-
Tuileries (directed by the Coen Brothers, starring Steve Buscemi). There is no dialogue at all here, probably in tribute to mime,just a very funny Steve Buscemi struggling to deal with Parisians in the Paris Metro. Great facial expressions!
Loin du 16e (directed by Walter Salles and Daniela Thomas, starring Catalina Sandino Moreno) is a heartbreaking short of a young immigrant woman who puts her baby in daycare every morning (a horrible looking warehouse full of cots) to travel across Paris to be a nanny for a rich couple and look after their baby. Beautifully done, but oh so sad.
Père-Lachaise (directed by Wes Craven, starring Rufus Sewell and Emily Mortimer) is a tongue in cheek look at a couple's strained relationship as they stroll around the famous cemetary, where the ghost of Oscar Wilde resides....great fun.
14e arrondissement (directed by Alexander Payne, starring Margo Martindale) is a perfect character piece of a lonely middle-aged American woman exploring Paris, with a particularly moving ending.
There are several more stories that are nearly up there with these, giving you an idea of the quality of the films. As they all explore different themes through the city, the great thing is, if you don't care for one story another will soon come along that you will like!
Any stinkers? no, not really. There are two stories I thought the weakest though, by a fair way:-
Quartier de la Madeleine (directed by Vincenzo Natali, starring Elijah Wood) which is a strange vampire tale oddly at sorts with the realism of the rest of the film.
Porte de Choisy (directed by Christopher Doyle, starring Barbet Schroeder) I just found too odd for my taste. Very weak story about the beauty industry.
The line up of directors and stars, American and international, is obviously top-notch (I have not even mentioned Gérard Depardieu, Bob Hoskins, Gus Van Sant, Natalie Portman, Willem Defoe,Juliette Binoche et al)
I really like this film. I enjoy the contrast of styles, of themes and of tone, and the fact that Paris unites them all. As a man once said 'you'll laugh, you'll cry'...and you will.
The DVD release is unfortunately a bare-bones affair, with a short 'making of' featurette being it. Lets see a blu-ray release at least, and a commentary track on each would be great.
Really recommend this one. Different, but in a good way.
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Vacancy (DVD)
by GentleGenius
RELEASED: 2007, Cert. 15
RUNNING TIME: Approx. 85 mins
DIRECTOR: Nimrod Antal
PRODUCER: Hal Lieberman
SCREENPLAY: Mark L Smith
MUSIC: Paul Haslinger
MAIN CAST:-
Luke Wilson as David Fox
Kate Beckinsale as Amy Fox
Frank Whaley as ... Mason
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FILM ONLY REVIEW
David and Amy are driving somewhere late at night, and for some reason David decides to veer off the highway and take an unfamiliar route which he hopes will be quicker. After driving for some while, the tank gets low on petrol, so he pulls in at a very remote filling station. Whilst there and finding the place closed, the proprietor who is still hanging around, advises David and Amy to drive to another station about 20 miles along the road.
After travelling for just a short while, the car runs out of petrol, so David and Amy walk back to the filling station to see if the proprietor can help them further, and once there, they spot a motel next door and decide to see if they can spend the night there.
The motel is run by a strange man, and there don't seem to be any other guests. Whilst waiting to be booked in, David and Amy hear the sounds of screaming coming from behind the reception desk, but it turns out to be a video that the odd man is watching.
The man shows David and Amy to a very tatty, dirty room which Amy is horrified by, but David assures her they only have to spend a few hours there sleeping, then they'll be on their way.
As David and Amy try to settle for the night, they are disturbed by a strange, very loud banging noise coming from the next room. Also, when there is a knock on the door and David goes to answer it, nobody is there.
Feeling a little uneasy, David notices a pile of VHS tapes, so he plays one, hoping it'll be something to watch that will help him sleep. When the video starts to play, both he and Amy are horrified to see it is a film of the very room they are in, with various people being brutally tortured and abused.
It is then that it becomes obvious not all is right at the motel, as when David tries to complain about the noise to the man at reception, he finds him of no help, being told that he (David) and Amy are the only guests at the motel.
Sensing they could be in danger, David and Amy have to hatch an escape plan which isn't as simple, due to them having temporarily abandoned their car with an empty fuel tank.
Although the above seems a lengthy précis, it merely sets the scene for all that follows in the film.
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Straight away, it is obvious that David and Amy aren't getting on too well together, and as they are driving, their conversation indicates they are on the verge of divorcing. There is reference to a bereavement, which judging by the dialogue, I assume they have lost a child.
I really didn't like the character of Amy at all, as I found her to be scratchy, hostile and not very nice to David who seems really easy-going and nice. However, Kate Beckinsale did play Amy's part very well, as did Luke Wilson convey the part of David, a soon to be ex-husband trying to civil and nice to his soon to be ex-wife.
As the storyline progresses and various things happen, Kate Beckinsale and Luke Wilson work superbly together, bouncing off one another almost as if were made for their parts. I was particularly impressed by their facial expressions as they flung little digs in one another's direction, each not particularly wanting to be with the other but are forced together by circumstance, yet when they find themselves in possible danger, are able to cohere and support one another well.
My overall favourite cast member though was Frank Whaley who played the part of Mason, the strange motel receptionist/manager. He managed to project one of those personalities whereby when you meet someone, although they look fairly normal, there is something about them you can't quite put your finger on that isn't right. Mason as a motel manager doesn't quite slot into the Norman Bates category as he is less initially accommodating than Bates, but he for me excelled in this role, coming across as a little odd around the edges to begin with, that aura increasing in severity as the film progresses.
The music to Vacancy I found to be a little over the top, it being a mixture of high-tension, dramatic orchestral which in parts wanders off into something more avant-garde. On my copy of the DVD, the sound levels for the speech of the cast is set quite low, and I found at certain points during the film, the music drowned out a little of what the actors were saying.
The atmosphere is very well set right from the start of Vacancy, exuding a sinister aura where the tension continues to mount once David and Amy realise they are shacked up for the night in what probably is the motel from hell.....an old-fashioned place, dark, gloomy, tattily furnished, dirty, grimy and run by a person whose behaviour seems disturbingly unpredictable. The tension between David and Amy as a soon to be divorced couple is also very well put across.
However, from about the halfway point in Vacancy, although I didn't lose interest, I found my boredom levels increasing as I found David's and Amy's efforts to extricate themselves from what was happening and make a getaway, to be predictable, as in essence, such really isn't all that different to any other film where people are trying to escape from something. I'm not sure what could have put a spark into that second half of Vacancy other than perhaps a move away from the 'norm' and to have written a storyline which is different to all the others.
There were a couple of points within Vacancy where I jumped slightly, but they happened during the first half of the film when the tension was rising high. It was very good though to see something in this genre which contains not absolute zero, but very minimal levels of blood and other grisly stuff.
Overall, I probably would recommend Vacancy as especially during the earlier part, it is quite gripping, its overall advantage for me being a very well set atmosphere that up until the creepier parts get underway, is very realistic and true to life. This film would probably appeal to fans of horror/adventure, although I'd urge not to expect anything stunningly original once the action gets underway. I'm not sorry I saw Vacancy as it is a well-acted, atmospheric and well constructed film which initially has a sinister feel to it, but I don't think I'd re-visit for second helpings....although were it from mid-point onwards more interesting, I just might.
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At the time of writing, Vacancy can be purchased on Amazon as follows:-
New: from £1.00 to £23.97
Used: from 1p to £7.99
Collectible: only one copy currently available @ £1.92
Some items on Amazon are available for free delivery within the UK, but where this doesn't apply, a £1.26 charge should be added to the above figures.
Thanks for reading!
~~ Also published on Ciao under my CelticSoulSister user name ~~
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