Eugene weekly., June 28, 2007, Page 29, Image 29

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BY MOLLY TEMPLETON
Leïla Bekhti as Zarka
and Cyril Descours as
François in Gurinder
Chadha’s contribution
to Paris, Je T’aime
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RATATOUILLE G
10:10, 10:45, 12:10, 1:05, 1:35,
3:00, 3:55, 4:30, 6:30, 7:00, 7:35,
9:20, 9:50, 10:25
EVENING PG13
10:00, 1:00, 3:50, 7:25, 10:30
TRANSFORMERS PG13
A MIGHTY HEART R
12:15, 12:50, 3:20, 4:00, 6:25,
7:15, 9:30, 10:25
SURF’S UP PG
EVAN ALMIGHTY PG
OCEAN’S 13 PG13
1408 PG13
11:25, 2:10, 4:55, 7:35, 10:20
FANTASTIC 4: RISE OF
THE SILVER SURFER
PG
*11:10, 11:40, *1:40, 2:15, *4:10,
4:45, *7:10, 7:45 (EXCEPT MON
Directed by Olivier
Assayas, Gurinder Chadha, Sylvain Chomet, Joel and
Ethan Coen, Wes Craven, Alfonso Cuarón, Alexander
Payne, Walter Salles and Daniela Thomas, Oliver
Schmitz, Nobuhiro Suwa, Tom Tykwer, Gus Van Sant
and more. Starring Juliette Binoche, Steve Buscemi,
Willem Dafoe, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Catalina Sandino
Moreno, Natalie Portman, Miranda Richardson,
Rufus Sewell, Elijah Wood and more. First Look
Pictures, 2007. R. 120 minutes. 44211
P
aris, Je T’aime is a lovely yet dis-
tant film: a collection of shorts,
each set in a different Paris neigh-
borhood, made by a glowing list of interna-
tional directors. The idea was thought up by
Tristan Carné, the final product produced
by Claudie Ossard (Amélie) and Emmanuel
Benbihy (Tom Tykwer’s Run Lola Run) —
and while we don’t often write much about
producers, these folks deserve mention for
pulling together such an ambitious project.
They began with Tykwer, who created
“True” as an example for other involved
directors. “True” stars Natalie Portman as a
young actress and Melchior Beslon as her
blind lover. It’s a whirlwind, as you’d
expect from Tykwer, and its petite story of
accidental heartbreak has the feeling of a
highly literate love song.
There is a lot of heartbreak in Paris, Je
T’aime, and it comes in varied forms: char-
acters grieve over a dead son, a dying wife,
a dying stranger; people miss connections,
children, home; relationships fizzle and
fade. The project is a love letter to Paris but
not necessarily to love. And it doesn’t
always work as a tribute to the city of light
(though by the end you may find yourself
dreaming of a lengthy vacation there). The
settings are beautiful, the visions of less-
often-seen
Parisian
neighborhoods
enthralling, but sometimes the stories seem
stories of a city rather than of this city. And
sometimes they simply move too slowly
through tiny, postcard-sized vignettes, gone
before you’ve had a chance to connect.
But among the overly generous handful
of tales, there are some that linger. Wes
Craven’s unexpectedly delightful offering
takes place in a graveyard — apropos for
the horror director — but it’s only the ghost
of Oscar Wilde, nothing creepier, turning
up to dispense advice to a husband-to-be
(Rufus Sewell, who really ought to get
more roles like this and less like his over-
wrought Illusionist villain). Walter Salles
(Central Station) and Daniela Thomas’
quiet, affecting piece follows a young
mother (Catalina Sandino Moreno) on a
long journey from her own home to that of
her wealthy employer. Isabel Coixet’s dia-
logue-free story of a husband who finds
himself, in the direst of circumstances,
falling back in love with his wife is utterly
winning. Gurinder Chadha (Bend It Like
Beckham) and Gus Van Sant both show
connections almost missed — hers
between a young Muslim woman and a
sensitive French boy, his between two
striking young men in a print shop — while
animation director Sylvain Chomet (The
Triplets of Belleville) takes on his first live-
action piece with “Tour Eiffel,” a bouncy,
peculiar story of love between mimes.
As a whole, Paris, Je T’aime is less inter-
esting as a plate heavily laden with slices of
Parisian life than it is a sampler: Test out
some directors you may not be familiar with,
see which ones are to your tastes, and then
line up their full-length works on your
Netflix queue. Some of the shorts drag a bit,
some are merely pretty (Christopher Doyle’s
bizarre little piece, for example) and others
are downright odd, but the sheer array of tal-
ent here means Paris is worth exploring
though you may want to hit fast forward
every so often. But you wouldn’t want to
miss Frodo — er, Elijah Wood — having a
vampire encounter, would you?
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10:30, 1:25, 4:25, 7:40, 10:40
KNOCKED UP R
12:30, 3:35, 7:05, 10:10
PIRATES OF THE
CARIBBEAN: WORLD’S
END PG13
10:15, 3:15, *6:55, *10:40
*EXCEPT MON 7/2
SHREK THE THIRD PG
11:35, 2:05, 4:35, 7:05, 9:35
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PARIS, JE T’AIME:
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ONLY ON MONDAY JULY 2ND
AT 8:00 PM, 8:15, 8:30, 8:45, 12
MIDNIGHT, 12:05
LIVE FREE OR DIE
HARD PG13
10:20, 10:55, 12:00, 12:55, 1:30,
2:35, 3:30, 4:05, 5:10, *6:15,
7:00, *7:45, *8:50, 9:35, *10:20
*NOT PLAYING MONDAY 7/2
Welcome to the
Neighborhoods
7/2), *9:45, 10:15 (EXCEPT
MON 7/2) *DIGITAL TIMES
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DISTURBIA PG13
FRACTURE R
11:35, 2:20, 4:50, 7:15, 9:40
11:25, 2:00, 4:35, 7:20, 9:55
THE INVISIBLE PG13
NEXT PG13
12:15, 2:50, 5:15, 7:50, 10:05
12:10, 2:45, 5:10, 7:40, 10:20
BLADES OF GLORY
PG13
ARE WE DONE YET?
PG
11:55, 2:40, 5:05, 7:45, 10:15
11:40, 2:15, 4:45, 7:05, 9:25
HOT FUZZ R
300 R
11:45, 2:55, 7:25, 10:30
11:30, 2:10, 4:55, 7:30, 10:10
28 WEEKS LATER R
12:00, 2:30, 5:20, 7:55, 10:25
BRIDGE TO TER-
ABITHA PG
WILD HOGS PG13
11:15, 1:50, 4:15, 6:55, 9:20
11:20, 12:05, 1:55, 2:35, 4:25,
5:00, 7:00, 7:35, 9:30, 10:00
BUSINESS
& ATHLETICS
Will it get us
a new arena?
Adv. Tix on Sale TRANSFORMERS (PG-13) ★
Adv. Tix on Sale HARRY POTTER & ORDER OF THE
PHOENIX (PG-13) ★
RATATOUILLE-DIGITAL PROJECTION (G) DIG ★ (1015 110 400)
700 950
(945 1235 325) 630 920
RATATOUILLE (G) DIG ★
LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD (PG-13) DIG
(1000 1100 105 200 410
500) 715 800 1020 1100
(1035 135 430) 725 1015
SICKO (PG-13) DIG
EVENING (PG-13) DIG
(1030 120 420) 720 1010
640 930
A MIGHTY HEART (R) - ID REQ'D DIG
1408 (PG-13) DIG
(1105 140 420) 655 935
EVAN ALMIGHTY (PG) DIG ★ (1045 1115 115 145 345 415) 635
705 925 955
(440) 945
NANCY DREW (PG) DIG
FANTASTIC FOUR: SILVER SURFER (PG) DIG (1110 130 350) 645
915
OC: SURF'S UP (PG) DIG
Fri., Sun. (1120) AM
OC: SURF'S UP (PG) DIG
Sat. (135) PM
Fri., Sun. (135 355)
SURF'S UP (PG) DIG
Sat. (1120 355)
(1050 150 445) 735 1025
OCEAN'S 13 (PG-13) DIG
(100 430) 730 1030
KNOCKED UP (R) - ID REQ'D DIG
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: WORLD'S END (PG-13) DIG
(1055 240) 630 1005
SHREK THE THIRD (PG) DIG
(1125 205) 710
FRIDAY, JUNE 29 TH • 11:50 AM
DOWNTOWN ATHLETIC CLUB
$3 admission • Free to City Club Members
485-7433
www.cityclubofeugene.org
Free Family Film Festival Tue & Wed 10AM
Paris, Je T’aime opens Friday, June 29, at the Bijou.
Adv. Tix on Sale TRANSFORMERS (PG-13) ★
Adv. Tix on Sale HARRY POTTER & ORDER OF THE
PHOENIX (PG-13) ★
(1030 120 410) 700 950
RATATOUILLE (G) DIG ★
LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD (PG-13) DIG (1010 115 420) 725 1030
(1000 1215 235 455) 715 930
EVAN ALMIGHTY (PG) DIG ★
(1025 1235 250
FANTASTIC FOUR: SILVER SURFER (PG) DIG
505) 735 945
(1055 140 425) 710 1000
OCEAN'S 13 (PG-13) DIG
(1020 110 400) 650 940
KNOCKED UP (R) - ID REQ'D DIG
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: WORLD'S END (PG-13) DIG
(1140 310) 640 1010
RATATOUILLE (G) DIG ★
(1045 1115 130 200 415 445) 700 730
945 1015
OCEAN'S 13 (PG-13) DIG
(1050 135 420) 705 950
Times For 6/29 - 7/1
©2007
JUNE 28, 2007 29