The Thousands

Anthologies work because they’re so soothing for those with short attention spans. If you don’t like one chunk? Wait a few minutes, and you’ll be watching something else. ‘Paris, je t’aime’ has no less than 18 short films by arthouse directors from around the world, including Gus Van Sant, Tom Twyker, the Coen Brothers, Olivier Assayas, and more. They’re all set around Paris, and yes, there are mimes.

Telling a story in such a short timeframe is enormously difficult, and many of these shorts aren’t up to the task, replacing depth with eye-rollingly trite ta-daa! endings. But these are balanced by others that manage to do much more with their handful of minutes, and they make this uneven collection worthwhile.**Watch PARIS, JE’TAIME for a heartbreakingly simple story of a young mother and two babies, only one of which is hers; an sly and affectionate conversation between a long-divorced couple; and, best of all, for a short by the director of the charming animation THE TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE – and yes, it’s about a mime.