So This Is Paris

caterwauls5.0

Fun from beginning to end. This is a carefree sex comedy, that treats extra-marital flirtations and affairs in a lighthearted manner. The story revolves around two couples. Paul and Suzanne Giraud live a quiet and orderly upper class life in Paris. Maurice and Georgette Lalle are dancers who live across the street from them.At the beginning of the film, the Lalles are half-heartedly and hilariously practicing an "Aztec" dance. When Suzanne sees Maurice from her window without his shirt on, she gets so titillated that she feigns outrage and has Paul walk over to complain. It's Georgette, an old flame of Paul's, who greets him at the door. This chance greeting sets off an affair between Paul and Georgette, and a serious flirtation (perhaps an affair too?) between Maurice and Suzanne. These two couples, who are each experiencing their own versions of the marital doldrums, are reinvigorated by the other. The best way that I can describe this film is that it's like a glass of champagne: effervescent and bubbly. It delicious. Nothing is overstated, and there is a lot of innuendo. I've never seen a walking stick do so much heavy lifting to get the point across. There is a fantastic party scene where the seemingly straight-laced Dr. Paul Giraud enters a dance competition with Georgette, dancing the Charleston alongside hundreds of other party goers. It is one of the best party scenes I've ever seen on film. The film is only a little over an hour long and it leaves you wanting more. I loved Monte Blue as Dr. Paul Giraud, who plays him as both sophisticated and dopey, a winning combination. Lilyan Tashman plays Georgette as a fun and zany married flapper, who is not afraid to go for what she wants. I just adored them. I watched this at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival, at the Castro Theater, with musical accompaniment by Stephen Horne and Frank Bockius. 52 Years in 52 Weeks: 2026

nitrate744.0

Been wanting to see this for years, and now glad that it didn't happen until this glowing new restoration. Unsurprisingly, a master class in comic timing and exposition---Lubitsch's sheer patience and confidence in letting moments build and unhurriedly pay off never ceases to amaze, no matter how familiar you are with his work. (The mix of laughter and pathos he can get out of merely showing a man crossing the street...and in a 68-minute running time, no less!) In a time when most mainstream film is mortally afraid to let anything expand for longer than approximately 10 seconds, it feels more refreshing than ever.I'm also happy to have another Lubitsch silent now properly available because So This Is Paris so well showcases my favorite thing about his films---the sheer humanity and understanding he extends to each and every character, while still ruthlessly poking at their (and our) follies.This is a worldview, of course, that's present in all Lubitsch, but which, for me at least, comes more to the forefront in the silents---some of his sound films are among my all-time favorites, but it's possible to get dialogue drunk on all that Samson Raphaelson (or Brackett/Wilder) wit and not notice what's underlying it, especially when the director excels in making the infinitely complex appear effortless. The slight remove and focused attention that's part of watching silents really brings it all out beautifully. I've contended before that mandated viewing of Lubitsch should be part of many therapy or conflict resolution regimens---you (ideally) emerge with a more clear-eyed yet tolerant and forgiving view of both your own foibles and everyone else's.Lilyan Tashman, as always, is aces. And, as with so many others who were stars in this period, I wish it were possible to see more of Patsy Ruth Miller, who, at least outside of silent film circles, deserves more attention.

eely3.5

apparently nightlife in the 1920s went so hard that people willingly went to jail to sleep it off