Film Clip Analysis-"Paris, Je T'aime" (Place des Fetes)

Though brief, the short clip of the Place des Fetes short film of "Paris, Je T'aime" reveals an abundance of information surrounding the entire film. These short films that comprise "Paris, Je T'aime" all tell stories of love and loving in Paris while confronting different stereotypes and taboo issues others may be afraid to touch. The short clip I presented in class today is example of such. A Nigerian man has just been stabbed and the female paramedic who tends to his wound we later learn is a love interest of his whom he met in a parking lot before this scene. As he lays on the ground, wincing in pain, he asks the young woman if he can massage her feet. Naturally, she asks him why he would want to do that and he says that she has been running through his dreams all night. Now, this dialogue plays on a cultural commentary and stereotypes because sometimes men who try to pick up women in bars or other public places will often drop corny lines on their prey such as "Baby, you look tired because you've been running through my mind all day/night." Following this mini-dialogue is a close-up of the young man's face as he grimaces in pain, finally realizing the seriousness of his injury. The camera blacks out three times, flashing back to when he first came to the town square for medical attention. It then pans back and forth on close-ups of their faces, reflecting the intensity of the mood as she tries to remember his face and where she knows him from. The only sounds heard in this short piece (which are diegetic) are coming from his voice as he sings the song that he sang when he first saw her in attempts of jogging her memory. This segment is crucial to the short film because while it confronts cultural stereotypes, the pace of the camera movements convey the message that time is precious and sometimes, you don't really know what you have until it is gone.