…for the romantic
Amélie (2001)
No film about Paris is more romantic than Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain. Dripping in golden light and saturated in color, the camera camera every corner of Paris, from cobblestone and filagree, in a love story as quirky, charming and poignant as the city itself. It’s everyone’s fantasy of Paris brought to life by the gamine and game Audrey Tatou.
Cousin / Cousine (1975)
A delightful and hopeful film that beautifully combines classic farce and post-New Wave to illustrate the growing friendship and eventual affair between two free spirits married into a family to whom they will never truly belong. Defying all odds and social conventions, they let their hearts lead them where they will, regardless of consequences.
In theatres:
La Vie d’une autre (2012)
La Binoche wakes up one morning completely forgetting the last 15 years of her life. Instead of 40, she thinks she’s 25; instead of on the verge of divorce, she thinks she’s just fallen in love. Granted the rare chance to start over, she has only 4 days to win back the love of her life.
…for the bad boys / bad girls (and those who fall for them)
Breathless (1960)
Godard’s masterpiece of La Nouvelle Vague captures cool, ‘60s Paris with its special blend of cynicism, fatality and misguided romance. Jean Seberg is the carefree, independent American expat who falls hard for tragically cool Jean-Paul Belmondo.
The Piano Teacher (2001)
Not for the faint of heart! A repressed, bitter and ultimately failed musical prodigy begins an affair with a handsome young lover, only to terrify him with her warped sexual tastes. Isabel Huppert is utterly fascinating in this tale of twisted love, and Benoit Magimel superb as the young pupil who can’t stay away. Makes you look at Pigalle in a new light.
In theatres:
Intouchables (2011)
Petty criminal and banlieue tough Omar Sy makes a career of applying for jobs he knows he won’t get hired for so he can keep living on the dole. But when wealthy tetraplegic Francois Cluzet actually hires him as a live-in nurse, the two form an unlikely friendship that transcends class and economic differences and grows into a bond based on love and respect. The French audience I saw this with actually applauded when this film ended, the sweet sentimental fools!
….for the realist
Two Days In Paris (2007)
Julie Delpy’s playful debut perfectly captures the make-or-break moment when every couple has simply spent too much time together, while celebrating everything that is weird and wonderful about Parisiens (and their American lovers). Look for VINGT Paris contributor Christophe Dumay in the tense restaurant scene.
A Married Woman (1964)
Godard’s other classic, Une femme mariée, depicts a young married woman’s emotional indecision between her devotion to her husband and her lover. A thoughtful and intelligent film unafraid to examine the moral and emotional crossroads at which its heroine finds herself, Godard follows the beautiful Charlotte around town as she tries to sort it all out.
In theatres:
The Artist (2011)
It’s Valentine’s Day – you need romance, you realist!
…for the cold-hearted
The Bride Wore Black (1968)
Not actually set in Paris but one of the best revenge films ever made. Jeanne Moreau is the enchanting young widow who uses her beauty to avenge her husband’s murder in the most creative and cruel ways.
Kings and Queen (2004)
Emanuelle Devos is the beautiful Nora, the queen around whom the men in her life revolve. Intense but distant, she never doubts her beauty, femininity or rightful place in the world… until it all comes crashing down around her when she discovers her ex-lover, her son and even her revered father have been lying to her all along.
In theatres:
Les Liaisons Dangereuses (2012)
The ultimate tale of love turned bitter, vengeful and cold. Not playing at cinemas, but as a live theatrical production directed by Vicomte de Valmont himself, John Malkovich.
1, place Charles Dullin, 75018 Paris
Métro: Anvers