This latest film by Klapisch (his best known previous effort is 'The Spanish Apartment') draws a careful portrait of three Parisians at turning points in their lives.
Pierre (Duris) is a dancer who is now suffering from a debilitating heart condition, and may not have long to live. At the beginning of the film he gives the bad news to his sister Élise (Binoche), who promptly moves into his apartment to look after him. Her two young children will later be shamelessly exploited by the film for their inherent cuteness.
A separate narrative introduces Roland (Luchini), a prestigious history professor whose father has just died. He seems unaffected by the loss, and carries on in his cranky obsessions with Parisian history - but soon we will find that he has been more deeply moved than he likes to admit.
Besides these main characters, the film also gives some attention to a string of other characters: co-workers, family members, people from the neighbourhood. The ensemble acting is superb throughout, so that even the minor characters are both believable and interesting.
The idea of a film weaving together the stories of multiple characters who are connected only by the city they live in may not sound like anything new - but it seems to be a fertile framework for cinematic ponderings on the human condition. 'Paris' draws the strings together by focussing on death, sex, loss and passing. This may sound grim, but the film is surprisingly funny (the middle-aged Roland dancing to old rock'n'roll records is absolute gold).
With such heavy, heart-wrenching themes at hand, Klapisch does an admirable job, for the most part, of avoiding maudlin or sentimental moments. But above all, it is the performances by the three main actors that make this film engaging rather than pretentious.
Pierre (Duris) is a dancer who is now suffering from a debilitating heart condition, and may not have long to live. At the beginning of the film he gives the bad news to his sister Élise (Binoche), who promptly moves into his apartment to look after him. Her two young children will later be shamelessly exploited by the film for their inherent cuteness.
A separate narrative introduces Roland (Luchini), a prestigious history professor whose father has just died. He seems unaffected by the loss, and carries on in his cranky obsessions with Parisian history - but soon we will find that he has been more deeply moved than he likes to admit.
Besides these main characters, the film also gives some attention to a string of other characters: co-workers, family members, people from the neighbourhood. The ensemble acting is superb throughout, so that even the minor characters are both believable and interesting.
The idea of a film weaving together the stories of multiple characters who are connected only by the city they live in may not sound like anything new - but it seems to be a fertile framework for cinematic ponderings on the human condition. 'Paris' draws the strings together by focussing on death, sex, loss and passing. This may sound grim, but the film is surprisingly funny (the middle-aged Roland dancing to old rock'n'roll records is absolute gold).
With such heavy, heart-wrenching themes at hand, Klapisch does an admirable job, for the most part, of avoiding maudlin or sentimental moments. But above all, it is the performances by the three main actors that make this film engaging rather than pretentious.