Paris

Colour, 35 mm
France, 2008, 130 min
Section: Horizons

Synopsis

Professional dancer Pierre’s life is changed by the discovery that he is suffering from a severe heart disease and that only a transplant can save him. The spectre of death radically alters the way he sees the world, and in particular the people he has passed selfishly by in his life... Among these are Pierre’s sister Élise, a social worker looking after her three children on her own, two carefree sisters working in the fashion industry, a homeless person, vegetable vendors, a historian who specialises in Paris and an illegal immigrant from Cameroon… Though none of them is exceptional, they each live their own unique lives to the full with a sense of hope and desire. The unifying element in this mosaic of stories of diverse fortunes, characters and social classes is the solidarity unwittingly kindled through chance encounters between lonely, withdrawn people. “On a subway map, Paris looks like a web of intersections... To make a portrait of it, you have to use all the routes, one line is not enough”, observes acclaimed director Cédric Klapisch of his latest work.

About the director

Cédric Klapisch (b. 1961, Neuilly-sur-Seine, France) studied philosophy at university in Paris and film at New York University. He began winning awards for his short films (In Transit, 1986, Ce qui me meut, 1988 – César nomination). He was acknowledged for his TV documentary about an African tribe, Maasaitis (1990), and his feature film Good Old Daze (La péril jeune, 1994). This was followed by the story of a young make-up artist When the Cat’s Away (Chacun cherche son chat, 1995 – FIPRESCI award at the Berlin IFF), an episode in the joint project Lumière and Company (Lumière et compagnie, 1995), Family Resemblances (Un air de famille, 1996 – Special Grand Prize of the Jury and the Public Prize at the Montreal World Film Festival, and a César for Best Screenplay), the fanciful piece Maybe (Peut-être, 1999), the comedy Euro Pudding (L’Auberge espagnole, 2002 – Audience Prize at the 2002 Karlovy Vary IFF) and its sequel The Russian Dolls (Les poupées russes, 2005).