It's right before Christmas and Paul (Romain Duris), devastated by the recent break-up with his girlfriend Anna (Joana Preiss), retreats to the Paris apartment that his free-spirited brother Jonathan (Louis Garrel) shares with their divorced father (Guy Marchand, nominated for a César for his performance). Holing up in Jonathan's room, Paul refuses to get out of bed, despite the entreaties of his father and his brother's doomed attempts to cheer him up. Jonathan - a devil-may-care womaniser - tries to coax Paul into a morale-boosting shopping trip, but ends up making a solo dash across town, interrupted by a series of romantic trysts. The emotional interplay heightens with the arrival of the boys' glamorous mother (Marie-France Pisier).
Special Agent Matti
When I hear a French film is about a man who gets dumped and moves in with his father and womanising brother I cringe. I fear that I'm going to see 2 hours of hysteria with little plot and no real character development through the experience.
With Inside Paris (Dans Paris) I was completely and happily surprised. This is a film with real characters; we have all been at least one of these people and known all the others. Performed by an immaculate cast there is a subtlety to all these characters and they are all believable. The best part of all is that it is easy to get involved in their lives and to empathise with their dilemmas.
This is a really good film with clever pathos tinged with plenty of humour (dark and light). There is plenty of development in the characters and it is wonderful to see a normal side to Paris. It feels a little bit like a French Clubland with everyday people treating one another with honesty and warmth.
The drama, France, romance movie Inside Paris (Dans Paris) is directed by Christophe Honoré and stars Romain Duris, Louis Garrel, Guy Marchand.
M (Moderate coarse language, incidental nudity)
92 minutes (1:32 hours)
Film: 9 August 2007 - Melbourne, Sydney
Film: 16 August 2007 - Perth
DVD rental: 13 February 2008
DVD retail: 11 June 2008
