Paris, je t’aime (2006)

Directors: Ethan and Joel Coen, Alfonso Cuarón, Walter Salles, Tom Tykwer, and more Cast: Steve Buscemi, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Juliette Binoche, Natalie Portman Country: France

“The Tourist” (Steve Buscemi) is a bug-eyed, middle-aged man with a strong passion for traveling. While in Paris, he finds himself breaking the very rule his guidebook tells him to follow. For his indiscretion, he gets shouted at, insulted, likened to a “cunt,” then beaten black and blue.

A common fixture in Ethan and Joel Coen’s filmography, Buscemi knew what he was getting into. Although Tuileries is barely six minutes long, the Coen Brothers squeezed him dry. It’s well worth his trouble—the 5.52-minute movie became the most applauded, crowd-pleasing segment of Paris, je t’aime: a collection of 18 short films set in France.

Among the movie’s 21 directors, Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run) was the first one on board. He shot Faubourg Saint-Denis with Natalie Portman in the lead.

“I’m rehearsing, can’t you see?!” Francine (Portman) screams.

Under Tykwer’s guidance, Portman shrieks, moans, and weeps, reminding us how much we loved her 13 years ago in Léon.

With the film’s fast-paced sequences, one can’t help but compare Faubourg Saint-Denis with Run Lola Run. While it has the latter’s verve and youthful exuberance, Faubourg is more engaging. Volatile and unpredictable, it has the makings of a good thriller. Using shrewd cinematography, fast motion flashbacks, and throbbing techno music, Tykwer proves that he is anything but conventional. Faubourg is a rollercoaster ride: exhausting, but worth sweating over.

Swinging to a different beat is Alexander Payne’s sentimental 14th arrondissement, a comedy about a middle-aged mail-carrier from Denver who spent two years learning French so she could go to Paris and have the time of her life. While in the French capital, she finds herself falling in love—not with a dashing Frenchman—but with Paris itself.

I know exactly how she feels. After screening 18 short films set in the City of Love, I can’t help but feel the same way.