Paris, 13th District
Jacques Audiard moves into new territory with an entertaining tale of sex and love in contemporary Paris.
For many the first response to this latest film by Jacques Audiard will be to point out that it is uncharacteristic of his oeuvre. That is a fair reaction given that much of his work reflects a male view of a tough world and the films that he has made belong to him twice over: that is to say that he is not only the director (and France is after all the country that promulgated the auteur theory) but is also regularly involved as a co-writer. That remains the case here, but for once the female characters are the real focus of the film and the first named screenwriter is Céline Sciamma whose rise to prominence as a major filmmaker in her own right has been underlined by the quality of her latest personal offerings, Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019) and Petite Maman (2021). Sciamma has written for others before now - most notably the screenplay for the brilliant 2016 animated film My Life as a Courgette - but it is Paris, 13th District which prompts one into asking to what extent it is an Audiard film rather than a Sciamma film, or vice versa.
Either way Paris, 13th District emerges as a very effective entertainment, one that takes what is at heart the kind of romantic triangle movie that one associates with American cinema but which then proceeds to illustrate how such a piece can be modernised and given greater depth. At the same time the film has a relatively light tone and offers itself as popular fare rather than anything more intense. Contributing to its success on its own level is the fact that it is perfectly cast. Lucy Zhang plays Émilie Wong, Taiwanese by birth but now living in Paris as are other members of her family. Also in the city – but in her case having arrived from Bordeaux – is Nora Ligier played by Noémie Merlant (so good in Portrait of a Lady on Fire) and we encounter her as an older student (she is in her early thirties) studying law at the Sorbonne. These two women are very different in outlook: Émilie readily enjoys sex available through online dating with no strings attached whereas Nora is far more wary and inclined to be circumspect. Nevertheless, both of them fall for a teacher named Camille (Makita Samba) who happens to be black.
Paris, 13th District is a portrait of life today so it presents a world in which sex is readily obtained through the internet and is embraced on those terms by both sexes. In portraying this accurately the film shows this to be an age in which sex as such is not a problem whereas finding and handling love is where the difficulties arise. Indeed, unwilling as Émilie is to admit it, we realise that she soon has serious feelings for Camille whereas he is taking everything lightly on the terms that were understood between them. There is no betrayal in his having other girlfriends, but when his new relationship with a hesitant but attracted Nora starts to develop Émilie is pained. Thus it is that without Camille's behaviour being in anyway reprehensible he is at the centre of this romantic triangle, one in which all three are well characterised but in which the emphasis is more on Émilie and Nora than it is on Camille.
While the tone remains very French in the manner of, say, Eric Rohmer (the name of Rousseau comes up early on in a conversation), the film is in fact derived from short stories by Adrian Tomine with the settings switched from America to France. The replanting is totally successful and the French atmosphere is enhanced by the evocative photography of the 13th arrondissement by Paul Guilhaume. But other aspects that set this apart from its Hollywood equivalent can easily be found too. One such example is the decision to have the film photographed in black-and-white save for one brief scene and in Guilhaume’s hands this gives it a freshness that challenges the usual assumption that black-and-white is most effective when it is establishing some distant period.
Equally important, of course, is the convincing characterisation of the main figures, especially Émilie, Nora and a third significant female, an internet porn star who calls herself Amber Sweet (Jehnny Beth). She becomes relevant to the tale when Nora goes out clubbing wearing a wig that leads to her being mistaken for Amber. To be seen as someone who is so different disturbs Nora, but it also arouses her curiosity about Amber and leads to her making contact with her. The rapport which unexpectedly grows between them as Amber reveals her true self (her real name is Louise) is beautifully observed. At such times one really does wonder how much of the credit should go to Sciamma who, after all, is noted for her convincing studies of females. But, no matter how you apportion the praise, Paris, 13th District is its own thing thanks to its range of talented contributors both behind and in front of the camera. It's right up to the minute in many ways, including an abundance of sex scenes that are never irrelevant, but it's also not afraid to play cards associated with romantic comedies through the ages. The leading players are all talented, but each is able to offer another valuable quality as well: an appealing presence ideally suited to a film of this kind.
Original title: Les Olympiades.
MANSEL STIMPSON
Cast: Lucie Zhang, Makita Samba, Noémie Merlant, Jehnny Beth, Camille Léon-Fucien, Océane Cairaty, Anaïde Rozam, Pol White, Rong-Yong Yang, Genevive Doang, Xing Xing Cheng.
Dir Jacques Audiard, Pro Valérie Schermann and Jacque Audiard, Screenplay Céline Sciamma, Léa Mysius and Jacques Audiard based on stories by Adrian Tomine, Ph Paul Guilhaume, Art Dir Mile Preli, Ed Juliette Welfling, Music Rone, Costumes Virginie Montel.
Page 114/Franc 2 Cinema/Playtime/Canal+/Cine+-Curzon Film World.
105 mins. France. 2021. USA Rel: 15 April 2022. UK Rel: 18 March 2022. Cert. 18.