18 Days in Paris

Anthology films are tricky to manage. Usually they're a producer's construct to harness together disparate directors with no stylistic affinities. Let's make 10 short films about wheat! Let's tell Beethoven's life in 12 chapters. Let's make a film about love, with each segment set in a different quarter of Paris!

In Paris, Je T'aime, released on DVD last month, there are 18 such chapters. At first, I thought that was because there are 18 arrondissements in Paris. But no, apparently only 18 directors (19 if you count both Coen brothers) signed up for the job. So 18 installments is precisely the right number we need to explain love, or Paris, or both. Not convinced? Neither am I. No matter the quantity of talented directors (Alexander Payne, Gus Van Sant, Walter Salles, Tom Tykwer, etc.), no matter the copious cast (Nick Nolte, Natalie Portman, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Willem Dafoe, Gena Rowlands, etc.), nothing adds up in this Euro stew. (The dialogue's mostly in French, with some in English.)

Seen at SIFF '07 (review), PJT never subsequently reached Seattle theaters. On home video, the effect isn't like closely reading a short-story anthology. It's better suited to one of those kitchen counter DVD players--something to watch out of the corner of your eye while you're cooking, to see if you recognize architectural icons, arrondissements, and actresses. (Look! There's Catalina Sandino Moreno--the Maria Full of Grace star, pictured above.) Later, you won't remember a thing about their stories. If you need to be reminded, the cute metal box contains a second disc of extras; among which, it's nice to see the notoriously terse Coen brothers relaxed on the Paris metro set with Steve Buscemi. "We like beating Steve up," quips Joel (the taller one). "Or killing him."

Hey, that gives me an idea for a new anthology film...