Film is a great medium to experience life in a different culture, because most stories show aspects of typical behavior. It’s always fun to see places you have been or plan to visit, and having a plot to follow is more interesting than a travelogue. A film's setting influences a film, because regional characteristics and accents play a role. Parisians speak faster, southerners speak slower, and people in the country have thicker accents. French films always thank the region where the film was made (“Ile-de-France” means it’s made in Paris).
Many contemporary films take place in and around Paris. When there aren’t obvious landmarks around to tell you it’s Paris, the cars will. The last two numbers on French license plates indicate the department. Paris has its own number (75), and along with several departments (92, 93, 94) comprises Ile-de-France. When the story takes place elsewhere in France, a license plate from a different region indicates a character's status as "foreign" in that department. Directors use this tactic frequently, especially to identify those from Paris.
PARIS, JE T'AIME
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| A car from department 19 (Corrèze, in southwest France) |
The premise of this film was to get many directors to each take a different arrondissement (district) in Paris and make a 10-minute story segment. Famous directors and actors from around the world put together a collage of perspectives on the same city. Stories evolve around different backdrops, each with its own atmosphere and people. The result is a whirlwind tour of Paris.
Paris, Je t'aime
AMELIE
Paris, Je t'aime
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| Paris from the Arc de Triomphe |
AMELIE
The whole world fell in love with Amélie, the lovable, shy character Jean-Pierre Jeunet created. Even though he enhanced the colors with golden filters and carefully arranged each street scene, this is the Paris and Montmartre everyone wants to see, and he’s not too far off from reality. Montmartre claims to be the last “village” in Paris, and its inhabitants pride themselves on being different from the rest of the bustling city below. Its elevated position has always been an artists’ haven, but high property values limit it to wealthy today. You really can visit the Café des Deux Moulins, with everything intact from the film (a mecca for fans), but why pay too much for a coffee when there's another café with true ambience around the next corner ?
Amélie filming locations
Amélie filming locations
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| A typical café in Montmartre |
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| La Joconde, or the Mona Lisa |
Leonardo Da Vinci has always drawn people to the Louvre, in fact small images of the Mona Lisa throughout the museum guide you straight to her. Dan Brown’s phenomenally best-selling book-turned-movie draws people to Paris to take themed walking tours, and has increased awareness of lesser-known sites like the St.-Sulpice church. The story goes beyond Paris, but is still entertaining. Don't try to imitate the Smart car chase scene on your own!
Da Vinci Code Sites
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| The Louvre and its distinctive pyramid |
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| A view of Paris and the Basilique Sacré-Cœur (on Montmartre) |
There are a few streets in Paris which mean serious business for the upscale shopper: les Champs-Elysées, rue de Rivoli, rue des Francs-Bourgeois, and avenue Montaigne. This film centers around the upscale boutiques, hotels, theatres and cafés, a world completely foreign to the main character, a young woman from the “provinces” headed to Paris to find work. A good introduction to the new Parisian upper class (no longer maintaining all the traditions established by previous generations), and the discrepancies with those lower on the ladder.
The premise of this film was to depict segments of a story told in real-time, a professional singer trying to live an ordinary day in her not-so-normal life. The camera follows her on various errands, and the viewer gets both a walking and a driving tour of Paris. Towards the end she winds up in the Parc Montsouris, a peaceful park unknown to most tourists, even though it’s the second-largest park in central Paris (located on the southern edge). There is a plot line (she's awaiting the results to a medical test) in one of New Wave director Agnes Varda's distinctive works.
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| Boul' St. Mich' (Boulevard St. Michel) Latin Quarter |
THE PINK PANTHER
The Pink Panther films feature Inspector Clouseau, a bumbling French policeman solving international crimes which carry him all around Europe. The originals with Peter Sellers feature Parisian backdrops as well, but Steve Martin’s recent incarnations take you on wild adventures throughout Paris, also using a Smart car.
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| Hôtel de Ville (City Hall) |
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