Paris Is Happening

It is certainly an interesting film, which from the very beginning keeps the viewer in suspense as to what will actually come from the events around the disparate young individuals. The middle passage in the department store drags a bit, but it is probably necessary for the final twenty minutes to have the right punch, thanks to the appropriately heavy atmosphere. The film is quite clearly a reflection on a hot topic of our time, which pits the welfare of the Western world and the issue of immigration against each other. Although it glides lightly over the surface and provides almost no explanations, surprisingly it's more than enough. Let everyone make up their own minds. (04/26/2020)

I was looking forward to a great stylish movie, as some people call this film. But during the first half an hour I observed a number of characters independently of each other, who were inconspicuously walking around Paris and didn’t create any value. After the first half-hour, I really struggled to wake up because what was supposed to create an atmosphere, and many people really said that, just brought me a lot of sadness because it didn’t bring anything of value to the table. The consequent plot was far more interesting because I started to understand where the creators are going and what they are touching upon in today’s context. A French filmmaker and immigration politics actually go together and Paris Is Happening touches upon the subject from a different, but again an interesting angle. In the end, I was surprised where the creators managed to go but was I completely blown away by it? Not really. They didn’t get on top of it in the introduction, which strengthened the human struggle for a Western lifestyle but at the same time, I was sad about the time, which I could have spent differently. But in the end, OK, just brace yourself for 130 minutes and I am not sure if the idea is actually worth it. But when I think about it, maybe it is a bit. (06/26/2017)

The less it explains why, the better it works. The first quarter of an hour, which describes incomprehensible trajectories, is masterful. The interlude with attempts to philosophize is weaker. The second half in the department store is unbalanced, but as pure escapism without rational explanations, why not? Bonello filmed an Elephant in Dawn of the Dead, but unfortunately a bad reality got into it and Paris really caught fire. Nocturama doesn't say much, but he is able to impress. It is such a hermetically sealed vessel in which every revolt is futile, every plan ill-conceived, and every exit leads back to the same room. There is strength and weakness in this. A gleaming nightmare about a world that has an abundance and a deficiency at the same time. Filming it a year after the London Riots would have made Bertrand a generational visionary. This way, he’s just a stylish poet who came late. (11/21/2016)

An unpleasantly disturbing film, which has such an interesting stylization that you wonder for a while if maybe it's not all improvisation. But it does break at the right moment and becomes quite impressive. It's a film about our times. Unfortunately, I felt like it didn't say anything new, but only showed what we already have here. And maybe a little bit of why. (02/27/2017)

Very stylish! I let myself be drawn in and immersed. It’s an explosive topic (sorry for the pun) of the times executed without restrain by an evidently confident filmmaker. It doesn’t dive very deep, which many people will criticise, but in this case I didn’t need it. By the way, the genesis of the project dates back to before the events that it’s so reminiscent of, so there’s no exploitation of a tragedy for artistic purposes. The scenery of many familiar places in Paris is also a personal bonus. (02/03/2017)