Film Review: Paris, 13th District
I’ve really been delving into the best films and books lately. Here’s a review of one film I saw recently, in case you’d like to enjoy it too.
Paris 13th District (Original title: Les Olympiades, Paris), 2021 Director: Jacques Audiard Co-written by: Céline Sciamma, Léa Mysius, Jacques Audiard
I always love a French film. I love them because there is usually sex and interiority. And French movies evoke people’s lives in a way American films just don’t. Plus, this one was co-written by one of my favorite French film directors Celine Sciamma, so of course I loved it.
My husband Daedalus and I were watching Sciamma’s earlier film Petite Maman a few months ago, and at one point during the movie, realized we had what we now call “American Film Trauma”, so we began exclusively watching international films after that to restore ourselves.
What is American Film Trauma, you may ask? For example, it’s when you watch a character get into their car, and when they turn the key in the ignition, you brace yourself for the car to blow up. But, you see, in a French film, when a character gets into a car, they just drive away like normal.
If you are suffering from American Film Trauma, you are then left with lingering anxiety from the anticipation of doom, and the questions, why would that car have blown up anyway and why was I expecting it? Let’s face it, in our lives, how often does a car blow up? Why is this a thing in the movies? There are plenty of actual things that happen in people’s lives, and those are much more intriguing to me.
So. Paris 13th District is about those things: sex, interiority, and the day to day weird lives of people living in this apartment building in the 13th Arrondissement of Paris, just trying to get along and keep their shit together. it’s a place-based film in the best way, where you see their lives more fully because they are somewhere. And why is the original title so different from the English one? It’s just because Les Olympiades is the name of one of the tallest high rise apartment buildings in the 13th where the film is set, and the French would know it but we probably don’t. The shots of this district of Paris throughout the film are gorgeous and mesmerizing, and we don’t even need to see an Eiffel Tower.
Based on the short stories of Adrian Tomine, the film begins with a woman, naked, at home on the couch, beautifully singing karaoke. Already a win! The narrative begins with this same woman looking for a female roommate. When a man applies, she decides to let him move in anyway and they begin a casual relationship. Meanwhile, another woman is dealing with her own sexual and relationship issues across town, paths cross eventually and it becomes more complex with family backstory and other aspects of their lives than your average American rom-com ever does. Did I mention it’s in black and white — most of the time? A must-see. Especially if you are suffering from American Film Trauma.
