Two Days in Paris

Gifted and rebellious avant-garde filmmaker auteur Julie Delpy takes the bull by the horns in 2 Days in Paris and seems to want to steer a change in cinema.It seems as if her desire is to create another wave in French cinema following the first new wave movement by Francois Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, and finally be Alain Resnais. In the end, she succeeds. Her camera angles and camera eye are quite refreshing. I rented this movie in High Definition (HD) so my point of view might be askew yet HD's effect did add to the story telling of this movie. Along with the typical story of a couple, Marion, a photographer, Delpy, and Jack, an interior designer, played by Adam Goldberg, fighting after vacationing in Venice: a typical Hollywood formula script, Point A to Point B to Point C, yet the change from typical Hollywood cinema changes when they get to Paris. That's when the auteur takes over in telling her story.Paris is where her parents live. This movie is steeped in French culture. At the dinner table, the father requests the rabbit's head. The camera zooms in on the braised rabbit head as the father anxiously waits to be served. Another French culture reference is when the couple are in a Parisian taxi. Marion takes the bull by the horns and starts to argue with the tough guy Parisian cab driver. Traffic is hell in Paris. Yet Marion's verbal combat with the cab driver also shows another side of her cinematic vision: women are strong enough to stand up for themselves. While the two are arguing, Jack sits quietly next to her and stays speechless. He knows his girlfriend's temperament, quite strong indeed. Strong enough to argue with a rough and ready Parisian taxi driver.This movie is more about social commentary than a typical Hollywood type of movie. The lead character, Marion, is strong willed, yet her soft, gentle woman side is shown. Delpy, who directed 2 Days in Paris, as well as co-wrote and edited it, is a woman on a mission. I think that mission is to share her cultural upbringing with her boyfriend, Jack. They take a walk on a Parisian side street, where a former love of Marion says hello from his flower shop. On a personal level, she also is absorbed by the culture by wearing Parisian fashion dresses, dealing with Parisian artists, and showing Parisian monuments. Yet it's not all about Paris, it's mostly about France, and its culture. For those unaware, this movie is in French when she talks to her parents, but in English when she talks to Jack.For those looking for a typical Hollywood movie, this one isn't it. This movie is more about the director, Delpy's personal vision about what a movie should be like, and her opinion about what is wrong with the way women are treated globally. The best approach to watch this movie is by considering it a new wave style film with a personal stamp by Delpy. She's one of the leading French movie directors, and, one of the leading woman film directors in the world. She has taken filmmaking to a new subjective plateau. 2 Days in Paris is stamped with her personality and character all over the movie. It's her vision about what movies should be like, the movie director as auteur.

Loved it the whole way through. The stereotypes and humor and good cinematography.

A bilingual cringe comedy about a pair of brittle New Yorkers whose two-year-old relationship is tested to the breaking point by a brief vacation. Comparisons to "Annie Hall" seem inevitable--Delpy's co-star, Adam Goldberg, is like a more robust, tatooed-hipster version of Woody; Delpy's not exactly playing against type as a talky, excitable beauty who's had pretty bad luck with men (we get to meet a few of them). I guess writer/director JD's to be commended for her honesty in portraying both her main characters through the disillusioned eyes of love gone sour, but past a certain point we didn't find it all that pleasant to watch.Goldberg's character, Jack, is a snide, self-centered wuss who fusses about his migraines and sinuses and has to take cabs everywhere (prob'ly b/c JD has a lot to say about Paris cabdrivers). And I'm sorry to say that Delpy tries to level the playing field by making her own character, Marion, almost as annoying. It seems that Marion's freaked out by being back in a scene that she's outgown: she's felled by a panic attack at an art party, then 86'd from a café for picking a fight with one of her exes, then gets into it with a racist cabbie on the way back to her parents' apartment. The couple's terminal meltdown seems to be too painful even for JD herself--she excerpts the climactic scene in pantomime with voiceover...Delpy's obviously a talented filmmaker who's done some great work as an actress for Kieślowski and Richard Linklater, but I didn't think the insights she has to offer here really justify spending 90+ minutes in the company of these foolish, unlikable people. The vignettes of the small-frogs-in-a-small-pond (so to speak) Paris art scene are kind of funny; there's a nice mean-spirited riff on doofy Da Vinci Codebreakers, a cute scene where Jack bonds with an ecoterrorist in a fast-food place, but all in all, I'd approach this one with caution.

I really liked this film. If you don't get Woody Allen or Larry David, you may not appreciate this film. I've never seen either one of the main characters before, and I thought they were excellent together. This is a story about a relationship and weather it can stand some challenges, during a 2 day visit to her family and friends in Paris where she's originally from. He's a bit of a neurotic New Yorker, but very likable and intelligent. She's open and lovely, also intelligent, and they both seem to want to be in a good relationship, hopefully with one another. There's a political reference near the beginning of the film, and I can't help wonder if some of the 1 star reviews here aren't speaking to that rather than the movie itself. Or maybe they just don't get Woody Allen or Larry David humor. Anyway, I enjoyed it.

Ms. Delpy obviously likes Woody Allen movies very much.Her character in this movie of hers reminded of Annie, from Woody Allen's movie "Annie Hall", of course.The dialogue sounded as if from an Allen movie. That would explain the glasses she wears. An homage to Mr. Allen.The movie is very funny in its American v. French ideas.Ms. Delpy played all of that up to its funniest.I love her social consciousness thing. Bemoaning the ugly things of the world, but not being able to do a thing about it other than to only get angry at people.That was beautiful really. Because it was the way some women might deal with these things.Last thing, this movie is also good for fans of "Before Sunrise" and "Before Sunset".One gets to see/imagine what Celine might have been up to in the nine years she was not with Jesse.I downloaded this movie from Amazon's Video On Demand. Excellent service.No need to run out to the video store or run outside to your mailbox.

“It’s so ugly when you speak French!” (Marion / Julie Delpy)2 Days in Paris is a funny and surprising film written, directed, edited, and starred by the talented Julie Delpy. It has a taste of Woody Allen and a taste of European films.The film was nominated for a César award for Best Original Screenplay (Meilleur scénario original). The script is brilliant indeed.Julie’s real parents play Marion’s parents. The father is hillarious.The best: the lack of communication between different cultures, Albert Delpy’s character and his passion for destroying cars that are bad parked (it would be so great to be able to do that!), the American Republican losers, Jack’s paranoia for Marion’s man-eater complex, the fairy, the music, and the scene where Marion shouts at the racist taxi driver and criticizes France.The worst: that the film is so short. I wish it would have lasted an hour longer.

I saw "Two Days in Paris" in the cinema in 2007, and now, almost 15 years later, again. What an intelligent, thought-provoking, funny and insightful film this is. Chemistry between Julie Delpy and Adam Goldberg is fantastic. I cannot recommend it enough, especially is you are in your thirties!

Very much of the Before.....series genre so if you enjoyed Julie Delpy in those films you will probably enjoy this movie. I like the style of exploring the relationship of two people and found the film both entertaining and thoughtful. A comedy, although generally not laugh out loud, it is warm and humorous. More than a so called 'chick flick' I would recommend it to those who like a romantic comedy that feels like you have a private and privileged view of the two main characters.

A good laugh especially when you're in the same situation. The actors are brilliant and the story line is hilarious and ever so realistic !

Nice easy film to watch, simple time out during the pandemic lockdown and dark, dreary winter nights.