10 thoughts on “Paris Je t’aime!”

1. 1st video does not have english subtitles
   2nd video does

2. Quais de Seine
   I truly enjoyed watching this vignette. I love how Francois was so willing to help Zarka up after tripping on a rock. He totally disregarded what his immature friends were saying and decided to aid someone he didn’t even know. I found it utterly cute when Francois tried to put Zarka’s hijab back on. To me, that scene depicted two different cultures interacting with one another and maybe this was to portray the rich diversity of Paris. I also admired Zarka for being unapologetically herself. I thoroughly enjoyed when she told Francois that him and his friends knew nothing about women, which was entirely true. Francois’ friends kept catcalling women on the street and were rejected by them all. His friends should have come to the conclusion that they should stop talking to women like that because they don’t like it. Our beauty comes from us feeling good about ourselves, not from men’s catcalls and if his friends knew that, they’d probably have better relations with women, as Zarka stated. I was glad that Francois brushed his friends off when they stated those ignorant phrases about Zarka when she left to go to the mosque. My heart jumped when he left them to go see Zarka. It was like he was drawn to her and I found that so lovely. The connection between these two characters felt so true, natural, and free flowing like the river that was set behind them.

3. François*

4. The Quai de Sain vignette was my favorite one for a number of reasons. I really liked that the main male character Francois, and the female character Zarka, are from different ethnic backgrounds. This helped portray the diversity of Paris, and it also kind of showed the idea that love has no color, no boundaries. Also, they showed Francois friends being obnoxious and rude; while Francois was the more kind, quiet one. Despite his friends’ judgment, Francois helped Zarka up and just in the few minutes of talking to her, he saw something in her that he liked, a kind of beauty that his friends wouldn’t understand. I found it kind of funny when he asked why she has to cover her hair, because she’s beautiful, and she explained that it was a choice, and said so you don’t think I’m beautiful with my hijab on? It was funny because it put him in a kind of uncomfortable position because of his lack of knowledge about her culture. But the cute part is, he was into her regardless of what her cultural background is. Towards the end of this vignette, Francois follows Zarka to the mosque and waits for her there. I thought that was the cutest thing ever, that this girl he just met sparked such an interest in him that he actually followed and waited for her in a non-creepy way. I would watch this whole film.

   Some words that I picked up from the vignette that I didn’t know before:

   – Aujourd’hui – Today
   – Sourire – Smile
   – Pathetique – Pathetic
   – Foi – Faith
   – Surpris – Surprised

5. I like the Quai di Sain Vignette, frankly because the other was just too mean and horrible to even watch. But I also like it because like most french movies it had a love theme. In the beginning, when it showed the two out of three boys cat calling, I didn’t notice that the third boy named Francois was not part of that. It wasn’t until they showed him and the main female character Zarka make eye contact that I knew he was different. It was not until Zarka tripped and fell that I realized that she was Muslim. That caught me off gaurd because I never thought there was a Muslim population in France. Then I thought it was very sweet when he helped her put back her head wrap and didn’t care or mind that she was a different religion. When Francois attempted to follow her to her mosque, I was then surprised to find out there were mosques in France. Me thinking in a stereotypical way, I had always assumed that french were either European white, or African American french. Lastly, when Zarka exited the mosque with her father I assumed there would be some tension because Francios was not Muslim like they were but again to my surprise it was a cute ending where Francois, Zarka and her dad all left walking together.

6. Tuileries
   I found this short video to be very interesting because it is not the average love story. The video depicts the opposite of the romantic stereotype the French are perceived by non-French people. The video focuses on a man who looks like a tourist and is taking the subway in France for the first time. In the train station, there was a couple who looked happy yet somehow the male of the couple gets mad at the tourist for looking at him in the eye. Then, he associates the tourist staring at him with staring at his girlfriend and goes on an “ego-trip” and decides to defend his masculinity by punching the tourist in the face and dumping garbage on him. Another instance in the video that reinforced the idea that French people weren’t the people they were perceived to be was the little boy that kept blowing spit balls at the tourist. It showed that they weren’t just nasty when they were adults, but something that was a learned behavior. The bystanders don’t do anything to assist the tourist, knowing he hasn’t done anything wrong, again solidifying that this type of aggressive behavior is of the norm.

7. chose the first vignette, Tuileries by the Coen brothers, because I appreciate the absence of words and the use of facial expressions instead. Steve Buscemi was probably the best casted role that the directors could have chosen for the vignette, because he can tell a whole story with just his face. His physical appearance was perfect for the character he suited, a man cautiously exploring the city of love, only to find an aggressive romance and shock of foreign actions. Speaking of shocking actions, the climax of the short film was the fight between the french boyfriend and Buscemi’s character, it highlighted the symbolism used in the clip. The symbol of young dysfunctional love was the woman who instantly kissed him while her boyfriend jealousy suffered, the symbol of the deceiving “artistic city”with only one sad musician in the train station, and perhaps the most important example, the young boy who shoots straw-balls at Buscemi’s Character’s face, because it is “rude to stare” in Paris. The entire story is ironic, which makes it comical to us. We pity the man who sought adventure, because he received a slap in the face.

8. Paris Je t’aime – Tuileries
   I think this video was very interesting because it shows a side of Paris that is different from what one usually sees in movies and advertisements. Something that called my attention is that the man was a tourist, who was reading about the culture in Paris, as he was experiencing it. What I learned from this is that before traveling to another country is good to learn about the social norms of that place. When one does not know about the social norms of the place one is visiting, it is easy to offend people. Because of this, I think it is better to learn these things before visiting the place, and not while one is visiting. Also, it is good to learn a little bit of the language spoken in the place in order to avoid trouble. Had the tourist known how to apologize in french, perhaps he could have avoided trouble. I also noticed that the culture in Paris is not so different from that of New York City in that people prefer to avoid eye contact with strangers. Also, it is common to find people in a bad mood who overreact to little things in the NYC subways. Lastly, the way the spectators did not get involved when the man was getting beat up is similar to how most people would react if a similar situation were to occur in NYC subways. Overall, this was an interesting vignette, and I learned a lot about the social norms in Paris.

9. I really enjoyed the first video, because it portrays the stereotype of Paris: being the city of love, arched curved architecture in the train station and in addition, a lot of rude people. Also, it relates to any tourist to a foreign country reading and relying on the pamphlet that shows the background, history and map of the city. The whole scene revolves around a conflict that the couple set up and it emphasizes how deeply indulged in love the couples are and the humor behind it, having the boyfriend beat up the guy. It’s absurd satire at its finest.

   -Edmond Liu

10. Tuileries
    I really enjoyed this vignette I though it was funny the way they played out the stereotypes of french people, the little boy being rude and the women showing disdain for the tourist (I encountered a lot of that visiting a museum just outside of France this summer), and the young couples dramatic reaction to the faux pas of making eye-contact in the subway. It was also an interesting contrast to see how clean the Parisian subway was compared to New York! And of course Steve Buscemi’s mannerisms are great.
    Some new words:
    connard- **shole/idiot
    Langue- tongue
    fini- finished
    bagarres- fighting
    impoli- impolite