Jean Cocteau once said that, “In Paris everybody wants to be an actor; nobody is content to be a spectator.” Yet, in writer/director Cédric Klapisch’s latest ensemble film, Paris, a dancer (Romain Duris) afflicted with a failing heart discovers the vicarious solace of the gaze, Rear Window-style. When his concerned social-worker sister (Juliette Binoche) moves in with her three children to care for him during the wait for a heart transplant, he sums up his passing days with a simple phrase: “I watch other people live.” Through this prism of mortality, Klapisch explores his luminous hometown with affection and with what one character describes as a “curiosity for heritage,” offering vignettes that come to life across the postcard-ready arrondissements. Read More »
