Paris, Je T'Aime Review

Messages: Love is at the center of these 18 shorts, with Parisians and visitors to Paris finding it, losing it, and learning to let go. Because each story takes place in a different Paris neighborhood, there's also a lot of diversity and an underlying theme of embracing and celebrating the diversity of Paris.

Role models: Some shorts are full of admirable characters. In "Place des Victoires," a mother mourns the loss of her son and finds the strength to go on. In "Bastille" an adulterous man turns himself around to be there for his terminally ill wife. Then there are the not-so-admirable sort: In "Tuileries" a couple toys with and then beats a lonely tourist caught staring at them.

Violence: The bloodiest short (though the blood is surreal and glowing) has a vampire draining a victim and then turning another man into a vampire. In another short a man is stabbed and dies slowly. In still others a woman faints, a tourist is beaten up, and a hairdresser does some martial arts moves. Two shorts deal with loss: in one, a mother mourns a son who's already dead; in another, a husband nurses his wife with a terminal illness.

Sex: One couple is shown in bed from the head up having an orgasm. In another short a couple visits a red light district to rekindle their romance; a scantily clad woman begins to strip but not much is shown. Lots of couples are shown kissing. A vampire couple kisses/bites passionately. There's a close-up of a woman's thong while teen boys engage in lewd cat-calling with plenty of sexually charged language.

Language: The first two shorts have the most strong language, with occasional strings of obscenities. In the rest of the shorts it's sporadic but sometimes pretty strong. Words include "s--t," "bitch," "ass," "p---y," "t-ts," "faggot," "c--t," "f--k," and "dammit."

Consumerism: A mention of Clarks shoes.

Drinking, drugs and smoking: Smokers abound. And there are plenty of scenes in bars with adults drinking sprinkled throughout the shorts. In "Quartier des Enfants Rouges" the main character meets with a drug dealer twice and is shown taking hard drugs and smoking pot at a party.