Paris

Rating:

* * *

Verdict:

A lovely but at times drifting romp through the City of Lights.

As you'd expect from a title as direct as

Paris, The Spanish Apartment

director Cedric Klapisch's latest film is a celebration of multicultural, multigenerational Parisian life.

For those who have visited and fallen in love with the City of Light, then

Paris

' beautiful cinematography, thanks to Christophe Beaucarne, with both its recognisable locations and the lesser-known and more intimate street settings, will no doubt have you dreaming of your next visit.

But this film isn't just about the city and its inhabitants. It's a film about making the most of life,  letting yourself go and trying new things. This is Klapisch's opportunity to tell   fellow Parisians to stop whining and get on with living  in the city he loves.

The film is centered on Pierre (Duris), a cabaret dancer whose life is on hold as he anxiously waits in his apartment for a desperately needed heart transplant. His sister, unlucky-in-love social worker Elise (Binoche) and her three kids move in with Pierre to help look after him, but Pierre's only real solace is wondering about the lives of the people he watches from his apartment window.

Paris

offers a wonderful glimpse into the everyday lives and loves of a stall-owner in the local market (Albert Dupontel), a history professor (Fabrice Luchini), a gorgeous young university student (Melanie Laurent), and a Cameroonian immigrant (Kingsley Kum Abang),  to name a few.

The individual stories are linked in an Altmanesque manner back to Pierre and Elise. Some    are well told and thought through, while others are tenuous and less developed, adding little and responsible for dragging the film out unnecessarily to more than two hours.

For a film about love, life and death,

Paris

is strangely lacking in emotion as we're not given the chance to get closely involved with any of these characters' stories, except maybe Pierre's. There are a few touching  moments, especially between Binoche and Duris whose performances are enlightening, but they are unfortunately offset by other stories that seem unrealistic.

So, it's a mixed bag. The execution of the multiple stories is slightly forced and uneven, but there is no doubt Klapisch has managed to capture the essence of Paris, bringing the city, its people and its energy beautifully to life on the big screen.

Francesca Rudkin

Cast:

Juliette Binoche, Romain Duris

Director:

Cedric Klapisch

Running time:

129 mins

Rating:

M (Contains offensive language)

Screening:

Bridgeway, Berkeley, Rialto