Two Days in Paris (2007)

julie! you are beautiful, but not jean-luc godard

Julie Delphy--i used to see her ALL the time at rocket video in Los Angeles, checking out the better films: jean renoir, paul thomas anderson, bergman, bunuel. maybe she never actually watched them.

SPOILER (of the first ten minutes--cause that is all i watched)>

hhahahahahaaha: Adam Goldberg, a nebbish/oaf BEYOND, is so whingeing here that he is insufferable.

mortifying all the way!

ouch!! December 26, 2008

Unexpected Delight!

This humorous sleeper film caught me off guard. I had low expectations which were blown out of the water. 2 Days in Paris is clever and witty, fun and playful, engaging and romantic, all while giving you a healthy taste of what it might be like to meet a French family. Traveling abroad is what I do, and this movie was a great stroll through Paris via your television set. If you like to travel too... Take a walk on the wild side and surprise yourself... Get this movie! It's a bit like taking a vacation!! December 19, 2008

Self discovery in the City of Love

For anyone who has ever experienced cross cultural (cross Atlantic) love affair, this movie is the bull's eye in describing obstacles in the relationship of two people who come from two very different countries and backgrounds. I personally wanted to see a film that was Julie Delpy's own little personal project since she has already shown her incredible talent as an actress and now is ready to reveal herself to the world as a writer, director and musician. She is obviously multi talented and smart and she is still beautiful even without any makeup on her face during certain shots in this movie. The relationship is between two neurotic people: French woman (Delpy), a photographer, and an American man (Goldberg) an interior designer. Their professions have a hint of artistic tendencies without any pretensions. Both are in their mid-thirties and well aware that by now each had their own share of heartache and disappointments from past relationships. Can these two lovers from two different backgrounds, one too repressed and another unable to control her impulses capable to salvage their relationship and build from there? This is really what the film is all about. This is not about pure love, first love, biggest love or the last love - it is about two middle aged, somewhat damaged people trying to be adults, rationalize each other's shortcomings and still be acceptable and forgiving of them. It is about making compromises rather than facing loneliness and superficial idea that things could be better with someone else. Film has many funny moments that anyone can relate to: racist cab drivers; overzealous mother who likes to do the laundry and have it neatly folded in the lover's bedroom; free spirited father who just has to get his way with the people parking their car(s) in the way of pedestrians walkway; sexual repression vs. free spirit ready to contain itself to a committed relationship. I like the movie because it is honest and true. It is definitely Ms. Delpy's labor of love. If there is one weak point in the movie that it is its ending. Overall, I have enjoyed this film very much. December 16, 2008

Embarrassing (for Delpy)

First half of the picture is OK, somewhat entertaining and funny but after that, when it's more about the couple relationship, everything gets confused and uninteresting. Delpy is everywhere in the movie but has little to say beyond the usual clichés. And why this recurrent class-racism towards taxi drivers?
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Delpy connaît bien les États-Unis où elle habite, certes avec des interruptions, mais depuis ses études (ce qui doit faire une petite vingtaine d'années). Elle est donc très bien placée pour faire un film sur un Gringo découvrant les Français. C'est bien mené, bien vu et drôle pendant la première moitié du film. Malheureusement ensuite le film s'embrouille et perd de sa substance et donc de son intérêt. En effet, la personnalité de cette jeune femme (au demeurant fort bonne actrice) n'est pas assez dense et il est dommage qu'elle imprègne tout le film : Delpy a fait le film, la monté, a fait une partie de la musique et y fait jouer ses parents. Même si on ne sait rien de sa vie privée et de ce qu'elle a vraiment mis de ses expériences dans le film, elle se montre trop pour qu'on ne sache pas séparer Delpy de son personnage Marion. Le seul intérêt du film est ce qu'une expatriée voit de la France et la réalisatrice aurait dû se limiter à cet aspect, surtout que son acteur, Adam Goldberg, est crédible (sans plus cependant ; habitué des séries télévisées qui ont fait connaître son visage, il essaye de s'en sortir en jouant un personnage de sous-Woody Allen auquel on a la charité de croire). Le petit monde parisien est bien croqué, malgré les clichés bobos sur les chauffeurs de taxi ; ils sont la cible d'un étonnant « racisme de classe », très courant à Paris il faut le dire. Ce qui est moins bien vu est tout ce qui a trait au couple et comme l'histoire à ce propos prend beaucoup de place à la fin et qu'elle n'est pas assez structurée, la dynamique du film en pâtit. Deux moments désagréables sont un chauffeur de taxi qui n'aimant personne ne peut être qu'antisémite et un bourgeois expatrié qui, étant cadre, ne peut être qu'amateur d'adolescentes thaïlandaises (bons et mauvais expatriés ? on a deviné qui faisait partie du premier groupe). Autre chose d'étonnant : une constante vulgarité et beaucoup de gros mots hors de propos (les parents sont étonnamment et inutilement orduriers).

En bref, elle n'aurait pas dû s'exposer ainsi. October 12, 2008

Delightful movie

This is a lovely movie, and I utterly enjoyed watching it - twice; however I could see how it might not suit everyone's taste.
Firstly, I think having a bi-cultural background (while not a prerequisite) definitely helps appreciate its humor and charm. Granted, both protagonists are archetypes to some degree (he the neurotic, hypocondriac New Yorker; she the bohemian, hot-tempered Frenchwoman); and there are also some heavy-handed moments (for example the rather cliche dinner with the French parents, where a stewed rabbit head is consumed to the horror of the American boyfriend); but there are also plenty of little gems - private jokes, meaningful glances and quips that any Franco-American couple will instantly identify with and smile at. For me, those moments really made the movie.
Secondly, it is a quintessentially Delpy/Linklater movie, in the sense that it's highly verbose and stream-of-consciousness, to the point of sounding unscripted at times. This can be pretty polarizing; but I think it's a treat if you enjoy the journey rather than the destination, and if you enjoy movies where the plot is clearly not the point. October 7, 2008

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