Dans Paris [Import]

DANS PARIS does have a certain air of pretension...that much is certain. It feels at times a bit prose-like and self-conscious, but I urge any viewer to sift through that mixture because you will be rewarded by a genuinely good film, brimming with peculiar intimate character interactions, and a kind of sad humor.

DANS PARIS is essentially an interlaced flashback concerning the degradation of a relationship between Paul (Duris) and Anna (Preiss). Anna has just left Paul who, annihilated by the separation, moves back with his father in Paris. His younger brother Jonathan, a casual student, still lives in his father's apartment and spends most of his time womanizing and fooling around. Honore's film becomes a meditation on how people choose to suffer, how others choose to allow or challenge our model of suffering, the inevitability and incongruity of healing despite our best efforts to wallow, and is none the less a compelling structural exercise.

DANS PARIS, the fifth film in as many years by writer/director Christophe Honore (Ma Mere), is through and through a constant collapsing and building of the fourth wall, both attitudinally and structurally. It is at once a Brechtian display of self-awareness and reflexion (Jonathon talking to the audience), and with its counter cannon of bare intimacy (insular moments between quarrelling lovers, Paul singing along to music in his underwear) it is a film that is equally, if not more so, a work of inclusion.

And for anyone who appreciates classic french cinema, DANS PARIS will be an alternately melancholic and delightful love letter to the French New Wave...and I mean in spades!

I'm going to start out by saying that I really liked "Dans Paris" although I'm not particularly sure that it is a cohesive, or even a very good, movie. Louis Garrel is a compelling young actor who has made some interesting choices, and it was his presence here that drew me to the film. However, those who might complain about the plot's ambiguity or the lack of a plot altogether are not off base. A throwback to the French New Wave movement, "Dans Paris" seems more successful as an experience than as a narrative. Although there are many subjects to explore--family disintegration, marital strife, siblings reconnecting as adults, psychosexual politics, depression and suicide--the film ultimately floats along like a breezy entertainment never really examining anything in depth.

When Paul (Romain Duris) separates from his wife, he returns to Paris to live with his father and brother (Garrel). Paul's instability and attempts to harm himself are a major concern as the family has already been ripped apart by a previous incident of suicide. In the healing process, Paul must learn to communicate with his estranged wife Anna and reconnect with a mother he hardly sees. Compelling stuff, to be sure, but it's approached from unexpected angles. I'm still not sure why the story is presented from Garrel's viewpoint and why he breaks the fourth wall to speak directly to the viewer. That's a terrific device--but only when employed with a purpose.

The film does have its charms, however. The final scenes between the brothers are sweet and surprisingly touching. In these simple moments, you can see flashes of a great movie! I also found a strange musical interlude between Paul and Anna absolutely captivating and heartfelt. And then there's Garrel. I'm not sure what movie he is in but it doesn't always seem to be "Dans Paris." His sexual exploits have an attractive whimsy but seem disconnected from the principle story line. But he's so appealing, you might not care (although he should bathe between interludes, it's only polite)! A recommendation from me, but if you're new to this genre--I'd recommend you start with the classics of New Wave. KGHarris, 9/10.

new wave movies are about relationships and intimacy. dans paris does a wonderful job of showing how the ability to attach as an adult is fostered in our family life as children. the only people these two brothers can really attach to are each other. the older brother was abandoned physiclly by his beloved sister, emotionally by his father, physically and emotionally by his mother and has come to fear abandonment again too much to be able to trust his girlfriend to be faithful and sets her up to fail. the brother is emotionally undeveloped because his abandonment occurred when he was quite young. none of this is spelled out. but the confusion and struggle of this very painful family life and their inabilty to move forward is beautifully developed and the emotions are palpable. i think that fear of losing the people we love is a more freqent obsticle to achieving intimacy than many people realize and the inaility to trust and take the risk of loving is very common. this is a very powerful exploration of how certain problems in being able to love and commit or even just grow up occur. i found it a deeply moving film..