Cannes. Paris je t'aime.

"That largely unloved genre, the portmanteau film, no doubt works best in specialised slots - such as that of the opener in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes," writes Jonathan Romney for Screen Daily. "Fitting the bill as a light, generally celebratory section curtain-raiser, Paris je t'aime is a postcard-like, sometimes genuinely charming, whistle-stop city tour, undertaken by 18 international directors or directing duos."

"Paris je t'aime may be small and slight (and already embroiled in a lawsuit between two of it's producers), but it's a lovely, romantic treat whose episodic, ephemeral nature doesn't detract from its exuberant, elegant charm," writes Cinematical's James Rocchi.

Variety's Lisa Nesselson finds it "uneven but quite pleasant as a two-hour experience that acknowledges the idealized Paris people carry in their heads while wisely veering off the beaten track."

Earlier: Ray Bennett in the Hollywood Reporter.

Updates, 5/21: Mary Corliss and Richard Corliss for Time: "It reminds us of the power of the short story — the movie is like a volume of De Maupassant tales — and the grace that can coincide with conciseness. It also made this aging movie couple feel, for two hours, like young lovers in Paris."

The Observer's Jason Solomons: "Four are good, six are OK, five are ropey and three plain dreadful."

Update, 5/26: Sheila Johnston in the Independent: "Paris je t'aime is a compendium film that constantly threatens to drown in the irreducible naffness of its central theme - love in the City of Lights - but has stand-out segments from Walter Salles, Gena Rowlands and Alexander Payne."

Posted by dwhudson at May 19, 2006 4:16 PM