From Á bout des souffle to Amélie, French cinema loves a good Parisian romance with the city often as integral to the love story as the love story itself.
Jacques Audiard’s latest is a love story set in Paris – but that’s where the comparison to its predecessors end.There’s no twee shots of a twinkling Eiffel Tower or panoramic views of romantic boat rides along the Seine, Emily in Paris-style here.
Paris is not sentimentalised: filmed in harsh black and white, the action takes place around Paris’ 13th District – an austere concrete jungle of modern apartment blocks.
Despite its title, the film centres not on the city that’s Audiard’s home, but on the complex lives of four millennials who live there, all trying to navigate love in a digital age be it via casual hook-ups, dating apps or online porn.Take Èmilie, a sharp-tongued, sex-savvy woman in her twenties who is bored with her soul-destroying job in a call centre.
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