16th Apr 08

WHAT
PARIS

WHEN
OPENS APR 17

WHERE
DENDY OPERA QUAYS, DENDY NEWTOWN, GREATER UNION BONDI, PALACE NORTON, PALACE ACADEMY AND CINEMA PARIS

WATCH THE TRAILER (IN, UH, FRENCH)
HERE

WIN
ONE OF SEVEN DOUBLE PASSES. JUST EMAIL WIN@TWOTHOUSAND.COM.AU WITH THE SUBJECT ‘OOOH LA LA TO MY CLICHE''

There are only a handful of cities around the world that popular culture won't stop mythologising. Yes, this is yet another film about Paris - but after an opening that looks like a slick travel infotainment show, a TV host asks "Who is Paris?" and immediately flubs his lines.

In PARIS, a charming French bakery is a site of casual, everyday racism. A secret admirer comes across as a creepy obsessive. The film enjoys gently toying with the expected ooh la la clichés epitomised by the recent example of postcard-porn, PARIS JE T'AIME.

It has a large cast of characters and while their stories interconnect, they do so painlessly, without the groan-inducing "Hey, the girl from that scene is now in this scene!" that's plagued indie-films for far too long. Juliette Binoche gets to subvert a typical striptease sequence, and Fabrice Luchini stands out as a history professor who's caught in suitably Parisian midlife crisis.

If your bottom lip is quivering at the possibility of PARIS shattering your romantic illusions, don't worry. It ends up celebrating just as many clichés as it's taken apart.

By Martyn Pedler

Format: Cinema

Mood: Nostalgic

Keywords: Paris, France