SHARMILA BILLOT chats with French filmmaker Cedric Klapisch about his not-so-picture-perfect portrayal of Paris in his movie.

Klapisch, the French filmmaker of serious films, is into comedy now.

ONE way of peeking into European culture is by watching their movies, and this year’s European Union Film Festival has enough to keep you both informed and entertained.

The movie Paris, directed by popular French filmmaker Cedric Klapisch, tells the story of a terminally-ill Parisian dancer Pierre, who sees people (namely, his apartment neighbours) and life in general in a different light.

The film, aiming to portray a not-so-picture-perfect image of the touristy French capital, gives you a cross-section of Parisian life, from the viewpoints of several characters: sick dancer (Romain Duris), a lonely single mother of three (Juliette Binoche), a Moroccan immigrant, a racist baker, a history professor undergoing mid-life crisis, a flirty student, a successful architect and a greengrocer (Albert Dupontel).

As a result of his heart disease, Pierre’s dancing days are over. Restricted to his apartment, he starts taking an interest in the lives of his neighbours. His sister, Elise, moves in with her kids to help take care of him.
Elise soon finds herself attracted to Jean, the greengrocer, who is having a rough time with his ex-wife Caroline, at the market where they work.

Pierre, meanwhile, is attracted to Laetitia, a student who lives across the street, and who has many admirers including her much-older history professor, Roland.

Klapisch manages to also include bits of social commentary including about a young African’s struggle to get into France.

“The movie is a portrait of modern Paris with its diversity of lifestyles,” said Klapisch.

“To make a movie about today’s Paris, you cannot help but address issues like immigration, tourism, fashion, romance, food and being bohemian.

“What’s interesting for me is the mix of everything. Even though people don’t really mingle, the city is about trying to unite people together.

“And because Paris is constantly changing like every other major city, you can keep on making movies about it — and that’s the exciting part for me as a filmmaker,” he said.

When asked how European movies differ from Hollywood ones, he said, “We think differently. For instance, we don’t believe a movie has to end with a kiss or have a happy ending.”

Klapisch is currently working on a documentary about French ballet dancer, Aurelie Dupont, and writing a script for a comedy.

“I want to experiment with different film genres,” he said, explaining his departure from his usual serious fare.

Catch Paris and 18 other movies being screened at the festival until Sunday at GSC Mid Valley and GSC Pavilion, both in Kuala Lumpur, or GSC One Utama (New Wing) in Petaling Jaya.