Wednesday, November 25, 2009

every moment another story begins.

Very few film anthologies are made today.  Perhaps people find them difficult to make or are simply not interested in them.  Which is too bad, because they can be really great pieces.  A film anthology is simply a film consisting of several different short films or stories.  Sometimes these stories are interwoven, sometimes they are not.  Other times the filmmaker uses a common theme to tie the stories together, such as a place, person, or thing.  In the case of New York, I Love You (2009) the stories of different individuals are connected based on their residency in the big apple.

The film was directed by Fatih Akin, Yvan Attal, Allen Hughes, Shunji Iwai, Wen Jiang, Joshua Marston, Mira Nair, Brett Ratner, Randall Balsmeyer, Shekhar Kapur, and Natalie Portman.  There is not a simply, concise plot but rather eleven short films exploring romance, love, and life.  These story-lines, some humorous others quite sad, all take place in NY.

I did not love the film, but I certainly enjoyed it.  A few of the story-lines could probably have been removed but overall it was a good film.  If you are looking for something interesting and different from the mainstream films, I would recommend checking this one out.  It certainly makes you think about the fact that every single person you pass has his or her own story... something I think a lot of us never really take the time to consider (at least I know I don't).  "It's a bit too arty, and a bit too cute," comments Houston Chronicle's Amy Biancolli, "but it charms and cajoles with the pluck of a native New Yorker."  And Roger Ebert wrote that "the film is a jumble sale, but you can make some nice discoveries."

With a 42% rating on Rotten Tomatoes I would not expect to be blown away, but it was a sweet movie.


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