I rented a DVD of Paris, Je t'aime. I can't stop watching it; it's charming. It is a series of short films, love stories that happen in Paris. It is the city of love, after all. Although I would never recommend for ANYONE to visit Paris while it is miserably cold in December. Kind of freezes up the romance right out of it.
New love, unlikely love, old and hurt love. Refreshing. Filmmakers and actors featured include the Coen brothers, Alfonso Cuaron, Walter Salles, Natalie Portman, Elijah Wood, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Gena Rowlands.
I especially liked 'Tuileries,' by Joel & Ethan Coen. Steve Buscemi plays an American tourist, confusingly trying to make his way around the city. He flips through his guidebook while waitng on the platofrm of the Tuileries Metro station. He notices a couple making out on the opposite platform, and is spotted staring at them. The couple, offended at this peeping intrusion, gets into an argument, and by the time the story ends, Steve Buscemi's character ends up having made out with the French girl and getting beaten up by her boyfriend, all the while a small boy has been pelting him with spitballs.
Perhaps even more enchanting is '14th Arrondissement', Alexander Payne's story about a postal worker from Denver. She studied French for two years and saved up for a six day trip to Paris. She had wanted to go for two weeks but didn't want to leave her two dogs at home for too long. She wanders through Paris alone, opting instead to enjoy the city on her own rather than following a tour group, as she was an independent type. She is happy with many friends, but can't help but wish that she had someone to share all of her beautiful travels.
She finally walks into a park, on a picture-postcard sunny afternoon in Paris, and, although she is in this incredibly romantic city alone, far away from all of her family and her friends, it is in this foreign country, while she sits by herself on a park bench, where she feels most alive.
