Written and directed by Julie Delpy, 2 Days in Paris is a valentine to some of the more freewheeling, open-hearted work of French New Wave directors like Eric Rohmer and Jean-Luc Godard. At its core is churned-up moral inquiry and self-reflection about all matters sexual, romantic, social and artistic. All the packaging, though, is hand-crafted and loosely bound.
Though she’s made her mark in the States as an actress (most recently in The Hoax), Delpy has a varied filmography and skill set. She’s perhaps best known here for the charming, alluring Before Sunrise/Sunset pictures, costarring Ethan Hawke and directed by Richard Linklater. It’s less well known, though, that Delpy’s off-screen contributions to the movies — particularly the second film, which she co-wrote with Linklater and Hawke — were absolutely integral to their success.
Another tale of romantic turmoil, albeit more comedically inflected, 2 Days in
Goldberg, above right) and French-born, alpha-female
photographer Marion (Delpy) — as they attempt to re-infuse their relationship with romance on the
end leg of a European vacation. The combination of
offbeat parents (played by Delpy’s real-life folks, Albert Delpy and Marie Pillet) and a seemingly endless supply of her flirtatious ex-boyfriends, along with the
natural language barrier (Jack doesn’t speak French), all make for choppy waters.
The movie is rooted in fancifully re-imagined biography, given the fact that Delpy and Goldberg used to be an item, and it’s driven by the same sort of philosophically introspective patter found on display in many of Linklater’s films, including the aforementioned series, an obvious antecedent. The angst here, though, is lot more cheery and soft-edged. Delpy keeps things moving briskly, and her offhand style is a nice match with the material. Part of the point, and a rather radical one, that Delpy seems to be making is that love can be a fickle thing, not for every season. It can last for years, then dissipate into a fog in the span of a few weeks or a month. Does that make it less important or valuable… or more?
Housed, one presumes, in a regular Amray case, this watermarked screener disc was presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen, with a Dolby digital 5.1 audio track and optional English and Spanish subtitles. DVD extras consist of a 16-minute chat with Delpy about the origin of the idea and production of the film (for which she also did some of the music), as well as five extended scenes running just over a dozen minutes in total. To purchase the movie via Amazon, click here. B (Movie) B- (Disc)