Jacques Audiard’s monochrome anthology of Parisian love shows that dating in the digital age is far from black and white
★★★★★
There’s a fable-like quality to this distinctly contemporary drama, adapted from three stories by US graphic novelist Adrian Tomine and set in the 13th arrondissement of Paris. “It began like this” we are told after the opening titles introduce us to a couple passionately embracing—implying that while the film explores the interconnecting sex lives of the residents of a Parisian apartment complex, it is these two in particular who are destined to be together.
They are Émilie (Lucie Zhang), a dazed call-centre worker who drifts through life with few responsibilities, and Camille (Makita Samba), a post-graduate student who by his own admission fills the absence of an enriching career with a promiscuous sex life. Their paths first cross when Camille rents a room in Émilie’s apartment, kicking off a passionate but short-lived fling that ends within a matter of days but still lingers in both their minds.
The two also come into contact with Nora (Noémie Merlant), a thirty-something lonely soul, who after a failed attempt at mature study at the Sorbonne, settles down into a job as a real estate agent and develops a close bond with an online figure (played by Jehnny Beth and whose identity is best left for the audience to discover on their own).
Sex is the thread that pulls all these richly played characters together in a film that addresses the turbulence of young millennial dating culture. Their relationships are passionate and raw, with the on-screen sex brilliantly treading the fine line between sensual and honest. At times the sex is confidently charged with passion, in other moments couples are awkward and stumbling, but it always feels true to the characters who all strive to better understand where they stand in the world.
The film’s French title—Les Olympiades—named after the real-life apartment complex that the characters inhabit, gives a better sense of just how important architecture is to Paris, 13th District. The ramshackle Paris real-estate market provides the bedrock for almost every connection formed, but it also highlights the alienation that can come from living in the urban jungle. In particular, the sublime black and white photography by Cinematographer Paul Guilhaume draws out the sharp lines of the cityscape and captures the imposing grandeur of its highrises.
The characters navigate these labyrinthian spaces in much the same way that they must navigate their relationships with others. There’s trouble at home for both our leads—Émilie has a frail grandmother whom she never visits and Camille has trouble supporting his younger sister’s foray into stand-up comedy—and their home life both informs their emotional arcs but also how they connect with others.
Lucie Zhang is the stand out here, bringing Émilie’s conflicting messiness and joie de vivre to life with a dance-like quality reminiscent of Greta Gerwig’s performance in Frances Ha. Paris, 13th District feels young and free in a similar way to Gerwig’s film.
The Verdict
Paris, 13th District is an utterly compelling look at modern love. Beautifully shot with a tender emotional core—it’s a film that’s easy to fall in love with.
Words by Jake Abatan
Paris, 13th District is in cinemas now
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