What an earth has happened to Parisian cinema? Much like its architecture Paris's cinema seems to suffer under the shadow of its predecessors. The beautiful wholeness of Paris as a city means it is near impossible for Parisian architects to create anything modern and fresh for fear that it will jar too badly with its classical surroundings. Similarly Paris cinema suffers under the shadow of the nouvelle vague, its public is too obsessed with its own ageing image that anything fresh and original is drowned out by tribute after tribute to a dead past (La Haine being a rare exception).
If Honore had wanted to make a film about the modern Paris the action would have taken place completely within the confines of Paul's bedroom. Instead Jonathan bizarre jaunt across Paris which is neither interesting, funny or iconic in anyway takes up half the film.
Even the sections which do focus on Paul offer painfully inept psychological profiles compared to similar studies in German, and particularly Eastern European cinema.
Frankly I wouldn't waste your time with this one and instead seek out some of the more exciting French cinema coming out of Marseille at the moment.
If Honore had wanted to make a film about the modern Paris the action would have taken place completely within the confines of Paul's bedroom. Instead Jonathan bizarre jaunt across Paris which is neither interesting, funny or iconic in anyway takes up half the film.
Even the sections which do focus on Paul offer painfully inept psychological profiles compared to similar studies in German, and particularly Eastern European cinema.
Frankly I wouldn't waste your time with this one and instead seek out some of the more exciting French cinema coming out of Marseille at the moment.