Paris and Alexander Payne

Coincidentally, we watched Paris, Je t’aime, on Friday night, within a two day reach of Alexander Payne winning best adapted screenplay Oscar for The Descendants and the French movie, The Artist, which sort of Oscar sweptish.

Paris, Je t’aime, for those who do not know and for those who need to be reminded, is a collection of short films by various connu (known) film makers, about love in Paris. Falling in or out of love, but mostly in. The last short in the series is by Alexander Payne called 14^th Arrondissement.

In this short, Margo Martindale, a working Denver woman goes to Paris on a short trip and practices her French. She falls in love with Paris and it falls in love with her. In the most basic way. It is exceptionally moving. Payne is one of the few writers-filmmakers today who dares to believe that human beings with their truthful emotions are interesting.

You can You Tube/Google 14^th Arrondissement and find a bad copy of the six minute short which is certainly one way to defy copyright laws. Better still, you could enjoy it on a Netflix DVD in its intended paid-for glory by putting Paris, Je t’aime in your queue.

I enjoy the Oscars. But I really like simple people for what they do and how they are. Because it’s all so joyful and all so sad all at once. And the team of Payne-Martindale gets this, fully.