A rather self-consciously stylish film, 'Dans Paris' is instantly reminiscent of the Nouvelle Vague and the various cinematic treats therein. We get a straight-to-camera narrative, an impromptu song, a jack-the-lad who just can't help having sex with three women just like that, Paris, and a disjointed plot that reels back and forth in time.
Thanks to the charm of its leads, Romain Duris and Louis Garrel, as two brothers, the film is interesting to watch and rather light-hearted, despite the deep depression that afflicts Duris' character. The pervasive feeling, however, is that the film isn't particularly original nor contemporary - any film that continues along the path of innovation forged by the Nouvelle Vague is ignoring the forty years since that has seen so much change in cinema, and says very little about contemporary society. Director Christophe Honore spoke of his desire to make a distinctly French film, without any particular genre in mind, and whilst he certainly achieved his goal, it does feel a little too much a part of the French tradition. Even Garrel's performance is a carbon copy of Jean-Pierre Leaud in his heyday.
Perhaps in the future, when we look back on this film, I can view it as a part of the Nouvelle Vague, as with 'La Maman et la putain', a definitive Nouvelle Vague film made ten years after it effectively ended. For now, however, I can't help but find it a little contrived, with nothing to say about the times in which it was made, and not as interesting as Honore's edgy 'Ma Mere'.
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