《Paris》 - "They just don't know how lucky they are"

C'est mon première French Cinépanorama.

Just back from my first French Cinépanorama with Mrs. R at Hong Kong City Hall, so satisfied.

Indeed, I would rather see this is my lil virtual trip around the city Paris.

Paris (de Cédric Klapisch) is somehow like the French version of Love Actually, which is composed by one main story and a few other "side-stories" and ends with the fact that all of the characters are somehow connected, at least by the place where they live in: Paris. Pierre, a young man who is diagnosed with a serious heart disease which even a transplant may not save his life; his life is numbered. But this serious condition suddenly gives him and his sister the motivation to "live" - to be active in life once again. Around these two main characters, there is the university professor who is obsessed with his young and beautiful student, the architect who is going to be a father for the very first time, the owner of a bakery who is a very mean boss, the African immigrant who fights for living in Paris for his family, the bunch of peddlers who Pierre's sister is familiar with...everyone has one's own live, own story. Some of the characters barely know the existence of the others but they live in the same city. For Pierre, all these people in the city were nothing but just some people around. As long as he starts to count his days, everything by his side suddenly becomes so real and concert that he can observe or even touch.

Like many films about a big city, it contains many messages rather than just one. However a lot of these messages are so simple that many of us will not care about it anymore. The most important one is that we are the lucky ones. In the end of the movie (spoiler ahead!!!), Pierre finally can have a heart transplant - though all things are told in a very subtle way. On his way to the hospital, thru the window of the taxi (hey, the application of frames!!!), Pierre takes a good hard look on the city once again and says:

(Of course the original is in French and this is not the exact wordings from the English subtitle) Yes, we are too lucky and we start to take things for granted. But no, nothing on earth is granted for you, even your healthy life. Remember there was this forward message telling us that we are the lucky few on earth than can read?  Treasure everything we have now coz we dun know when we are gonna miss them.

Don't start to care about the world around you when you are dying, that maybe too late.

What makes me quite exciting is that this movie is actually a comedy that you can laugh through. Some scenes can make you laugh out loud, yet some you will laugh and frown at the same time. Mais, c'est la vie. It will make you cry and make you laugh at the same time. Although the opened ending is kinda expected, but that matches what happens in life, everything is opened for us to imagine, to alter by our hands or by chances. What I have to mention is that this film has great editing and photography. Paris looks gorgeous yet realistic in this movie that sounds like it is luring you to have a trip. Every thing looks so fine but you won't find the description is exaggerating the beauty of it.