Paris Details

[Highly rated reviewer]

What does it mean to be happy?

A love letter to Paris, celebrating its fruit markets and warehouses as much as the cafes and sqares and the river Seine. It's centred on former dancer Pierre (Romain Duris) who has just heard that he has a fatal heart disease. In the weeks that he waits for a possible transplant he watches life from the balcony of his apartment, convinced that everyone he sees is happy and carefree - while the film shows a different reality of everyday pressures, problems and loneliness.

It's an ensemble piece moving between a number of characters and relationships: Pierre's sister Elise (Juliet Binoche)with 3 kids, wondering whether she is too old for love; history professor Roland (Fabrice Luchini) who is having a mid-life crisis (and a mad affair with one of students); his brother, an architect who fears that he is merely normal; the divorced staff holder with a crush on Elise.

There are small linking stories, like the bigoted bakery owner, and some plots which are just undeveloped - the illegal immigrant from Cameroun who is obsessed with a french model. But the main stories hang together well and there are some fine performances from the three leads. Romain Duris is always a class act and Juliet Binoche is excellent throughout. However it's Fabrice Luchini who has the funniest scenes, from his flirtatious texting to the wild dance routine with his student lover.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXX