49 out of 49 people found the following review helpful:

What does it mean to be happy?

antoine from , 9th February, 2009

A love letter to Paris, celebrating its fruit markets and warehouses as much as the cafes and sqares and the river Seine. It's centred on former dancer Pierre (Romain Duris) who has just heard that he has a fatal heart disease. In the weeks that he waits for a possible transplant he watches life from the balcony of his apartment, convinced that everyone he sees is happy and carefree - while the film shows a different reality of everyday pressures, problems and loneliness. It's an ensemble piece moving between a number of characters and relationships: Pierre's sister Elise (Juliet Binoche)with 3 kids, wondering whether she is too old for love; history professor Roland (Fabrice Luchini) who is having a mid-life crisis (and a mad affair with one of students); his brother, an architect who fears that he is merely normal; the divorced staff holder with a crush on Elise. There are small linking stories, like the bigoted bakery owner, and some plots which are just undeveloped - the illegal immigrant from Cameroun who is obsessed with a french model. But the main stories hang together well and there are some fine performances from the three leads. Romain Duris is always a class act and Juliet Binoche is excellent throughout. However it's Fabrice Luchini who has the funniest scenes, from his flirtatious texting to the wild dance routine with his student lover.

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16 out of 18 people found the following review helpful:

paris

A Customer from Kendal, 12th April, 2009

Disappointed as not informed this film was subtitled and i am afraid badly at that only watched 20 mins -seemed dreary

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9 out of 10 people found the following review helpful:

Disappointing

A Customer from Brighton, 27th February, 2009

I normally prefer French films because they are unusual and insightful, but this film is disappointing in that portrays Parisians as A Typical. They all jump into bed (without the sex) with one another as French people are supposed to do. The acting wooden and the plot is thin and even worst dull and predictable

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5 out of 5 people found the following review helpful:

NOT ENOUGH SUB-TITLES

A Customer from York, 10th March, 2009

An unusual complaint but normally I enjoy foreign films and have no problems with sub-titles,particularly French as I do have a moderate understanding. But this film is under sub-titled. Whole passages pass by - some of which are crucial to the plot - with no titles.In the end we gave up and returned the film with a note to that effect.

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Paris

Elelondon from , 20th January, 2010

This film was quite deep - and for that I would really recommend watching it. It is quite emotional, both wonderfully happy and horribly sad at different points. It has a great message to 'sieze the day' and celebrated the normal lives of a group of people. There was nothing overly complicated about the plot, it was just made brilliant by the normality of it. I did think there were some sub plots which as part of a 'story' were pointless, but as a portrait of normal Paris were nessecary. I would say it's a film of contrasts between life and death, love, and being without love, between the rich glamorous Paris and all its flaws, and the Paris of the ordinary people and the immigrants. Recommended.

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Paris

A Customer from Northampton, 17th January, 2010

Not a film of fast moving action but a slow look at a range interactive lives and how they relate to each other and more loosely to the main character. Chic flick for the lovers of foreign films.

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Paris

lauski from , 8th January, 2010

Paris has a mixture of characters from all walks of life. I found the movie very real, for me it was like a big picture of normal situations that anybody could face. I could not generalise and put people in boxes, however I do find fascinating the way this movie gave me an sight of people in Paris, the way they deal with difficult situations, the links between families they way they support or don't support each other, life for Parishians who work in the market, life in upmarket places, life of loners, students, ill people, kids. It can be a bit ambitious to try and understand all the characters and situations, the movie just give a little taste of each one - this is the only down I suppose.

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Very French

Chantal from , 6th January, 2010

Slow, a lot of dialog, not a real ending.

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