Paris Je T'aime

"Sitting there, alone in a foreign country, far from my job and everyone I know, a feeling came over me. It was like remembering something I'd never known before or had always been waiting for, but I didn't know what. Maybe it was something I'd forgotten or something I've been missing all my life. All I can say is that I felt, at the same time, joy and sadness. But not too much sadness, because I felt alive. Yes, alive. That was the moment I fell in love with Paris. And I felt Paris fall in love with me."

At the recommendation of a coworker, I rented Paris Je T'aime last weekend.

Eighteen directors (like the Cohen Brothers, Wes Craven, Gus van Zant, and Olivier Assayas) were each assigned on of the 18 Arrondissements (neighborhoods) of Paris. They had 5 minute of film time to tell a story about love in that neighborhood. Some stories are in English, some stories are in French, some stories need no words. Cast members include Gena Rowlands, Bob Hoskins, Elijah Wood, Natalie Portman, Juliet Binoche, Maggie Gyllenhaall, Nick Nolte, Willem Dafoe, Natalie Richardson, Emily Mortimer...it goes on and on.

The trailer doesn't do it justice but when you do rent it, I highly suggest you watch the behind the scenes bits about the making of the movie and the experiences they all had. If you've ever been to Paris, it's like a journey back to the places you saw and experienced and you'll fall in love with Paris all over again.