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Movie Poster : New York I Love You
New York, I Love You (2009) is the second series of
collective short films conceived by producer Emmanuel Benbihy of Paris je
t'aime (2006). The movie consists of several love stories set in one of the
most loved cities of the world, New York.
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| Movie Producer : Emmanuel Benbihy |
Benbihy explains, “My idea was always to make a collection
of movies that would illustrate the universal idea of love around the world. I
started with Paris because that is where I am from, but I always intended to do
something similar for all the mythic cities, of which New York of course had to
be a part. New York is a city that has the potential to make anybody who sees
it start to dream."
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| One of the heart-warming scenes in New York I Love You |
Directed by ten emerging directors from around the world, the
film tries to break the rules by stressing continuity over individuality.
Therefore, the filming itself had to obey a series of rules and they are, each
story had to be visually identified with one or more New
York neighbourhoods, each story had to involve some kind of love
encounter, there would be no fades to black at end or beginning of any segment.
For me, I think the place chosen and the title itself which is New York had
already attract
the people to watch the movie since New York has long been
cinema's dream city. The city has been immortalized on screen in hundreds of
different ways in thousands of movies but the effort of the ten directors
trying to portray it in their own unique way should be credited.
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| Natalie Portman as Rifka Malone & Irrfan Khan as Mansuhkhbai |
The
movie has its own high and lows. None of the stories has enough screen time to
allow for the characteristics and abilities of the directors to shine through. Most
of the segments are too short and slight to be considered not important to be
showed especially the part where Irrfan Khan, a Jain Indian diamond dealer, in
all of a sudden kissed Natalie Portman’s forehead who plays a Hasidic Jew and
bride-to-be. As for me, I don’t really get what are the motives or significance
of that part.
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| One of the most standout scene in New York I Love You |
There are of course a few standouts in the movie and one of
my favourite scenes is the conversation or seduction that occurs between Chris
Cooper and Robin Wright Penn. Despite being together for not more than six or
seven minutes, they sizzle. There's a connection between them and the scene are
short yet easy to be understood. It's neither too short nor too long and ends
perfectly. My second favourite scene is the beach walk with Eli Wallach and
Cloris Leachman where it seems so perfect in its own way and so honest in its
representation of two people who express their love through argumentative behaviour,
that it warmed my frosty heart.
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| New York City |
Overall, ten vignettes in New York City: a pickpocket meets
his match; a young Hasidic woman, on the eve of her marriage, reveals herself
to an Indian businessman; a writer tries a pick-up line; an artist seeks a
model; a composer needs to read; two women connect; a man takes a child to
Central Park; lovers meet; a couple takes a walk on their anniversary; a kid
goes to the prom with a girl in a wheelchair; a retired singer contemplates
suicide.The movie is a great attempt and effort by the directors and the high
and lows of the movies should have taken notes by the directors for a better
improvement in their next movies.
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