Paradise Paris**
by Marjane Satrapi
French film, 1h50
Making a comedy about death is Marjane Satrapi’s challenge. In this fragmented film, she interweaves the trajectories of people faced with a death, others who could soon be hit by the grim reaper or who have some connections with him. An Italian singer (Monica Belluci) wakes up in the morgue. From this return from the dead following a doctor’s error in diagnosis, she hopes for a single benefit: her reading of a press grieving by the disappearance of her immense talent and the end point of a career incomparable, even if she hasn’t sung anywhere other than in her bathroom for years.
The presenter of a successful show (André Dussollier) has made stories of the deceased his business, but he changes his mind, suddenly more concerned with being on the side of the living. A cafe owner (Alex Lutz) can’t bring himself to overcome the disappearance of the woman from his life. A heavy smoker (Rossy de Palma) makes a deal with God for the happiness of her granddaughter. Kidnapped by a psychopath, a suicidal teenager (Charline Balu-Emane) finally finds the vital energy she lacked and, as in The great chef by Henri Verneuil, transforms the life of his kidnapper into hell by telling him in detail his states of mind.
A mosaic with facetious charm
Let’s admit it, Paradise Paris is messy and uneven. In this ensemble film, a few characters establish ultimately tenuous relationships between situations. The links relate more to geographical proximity in an ideal Paris. And yet there hovers over this mosaic a facetious charm, a smiling gravity. It finds its unity in photography with sunny hues, the play of a beautiful cast and this common thread around death and the questions it raises.
Marjane Satrapi, who had carried this project within her for around ten years, finally got down to it when she was confronted with death. Instead of turning out to be sinister, Paradise Paris sets out a strong message which, if not new, retains its full meaning: death gives more depth to existence. It is the chance to be alive that he celebrates, with touching sincerity.
