What better way to prepare for a trip to the City of Light than by watching romantic movies set in Paris? Whether you find the following films moving, funny or inspiring, you will appreciate the diverse views of Paris as seen through the eyes of each director and the lens of the cinematographer.
An american in paris
Of all the movies set in Paris, this classic MGM musical captures the romance of the city after World War II, when Americans were loved for winning the war and a boy could live the good life on a few pennies . The multifaceted Gene Kelly plays a soldier who trades his uniform for an artist’s robe, paints in a garret, and falls in love with Leslie Caron. The film won six Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Screenplay. The stimulating music was composed by George Gershwin.
Before sunset
In Richard Linklater’s previous film Before Sunrise, Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke meet on a train in Vienna and connect. They get off at the same station and walk all night, discussing love, romance, politics, and their hopes for the future. They agree to meet again in Vienna in six months … but they don’t. Their paths cross again in Paris nine years later. They pick up the conversation where they left off and update each other on what has happened in their lives since they met. Tense, talkative, teasing, they traverse Paris and viewers see them in a cafe, at a Bateaux Mouche, and strolling through the romantic gardens and alleys of Paris.
Midnight in Paris
Woody Allen’s love song for Paris, this romantic comedy stars Owen Wilson and Rachel McAdams as an engaged couple visiting Paris with McAdams’ parents. The film turns to fantasy on Wilson’s nightly walks as he enters 1920s Paris populated by the likes of Zelda and Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein and other luminaries. It’s a journey back to a more romantic time, and the movie ranks among the best in Allen’s later period.
Panting
The icons of French genius Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jean Seberg are lovers in this caper flick that is as much a crime drama as it is a romantic flick. They stole a car, he killed a policeman, the authorities are after him and he asks Seberg to hide it and flee to Italy to escape. Beyond the plot, this 1960 film sets styles for everything from the image of the sophisticated French smoker to sleek, short hair on women. The film is directed by the innovative Jean-Luc Godard, considered an author with a distinctive creative flair.
La Cage aux Folles
Sold in a set with its hilarious American remake, The Birdcage , the previous French versions tell the story of a gay couple, a drag artist and a nightclub owner who lives in Saint-Tropez. The drag club owner’s son is about to get engaged to the daughter of an ultra-conservative politician, and the boy prevails over the couple to go directly to meet his in-laws. Michel Serrault as Albin is thunderous in the original, and the two films are worth watching side by side. Despite the plot, both films show moments of great tenderness and romance between men.
Camille Claudel
It was not easy being a female artist in turn-of-the-century France, but sculptor Camille Claudel burned with the desire to create. The great Auguste Rodin was her mentor and later became her lover. She modeled for him, and they worked together on commissions. The tension proved too much for her, and she went mad. It’s not the most romantic movie, but the stormy relationship between the two is fascinating. Isabel Adjani, who played Claudel, was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress.
Forget about paris
A romantic comedy starring Debra Winger and Billy Crystal that begins in Paris, this film has scenes of heartbreaking humor. At first, the sophisticated Winger is an American working for the airlines in Paris, and Crystal is a disgruntled customer (as is anyone whose father’s coffin was lost in transit). The two fall in love and the film shows the dangers of an intercultural adventure.
french kiss
A perfect date movie starring Meg Ryan and Kevin Kline, their romantic flick involves broken relationships, broken hearts, capers through the picturesque French countryside, and then delivers a happy ending.
Amelie
Critics were divided on whether this film about a whimsical Parisian gamine with an overactive imagination was romantic and charming or not. But you can feel different and just enjoy it for its views of Paris. Rent it before you decide to buy.
red Mill
Moulin Rouge , a kaleidoscopic musical by Baz Luhrmann starring Nicole Kidman, evokes the famous Parisian nightclub of the late 20th century with stunning visual effects and anachronistic sound that will appeal to modern audiences. The love story between the poet / duke (Ewan McGregor) and the courtesan (Kidman) is romantic, yet defies credulity. John Leguizamo as Toulouse-Lautrec is an additional delight.
