oui oui

i just watched paris, je t'aime for the first time, after it being recommended to me by countless folks. way overdue. such a beautiful little series of vignettes! and i'm so surprised someone didn't sit me down sooner and force me to watch it; really, right up my alley.

i wasn't much surprised to learn that this one in particular, les tuileries, was written/directed by none other than joel & ethan coen. their fingerprints are all over it- and what person with any taste doesn't have a serious soft spot for steve buscemi? killer combo.

my personal favorite, however, was the final story entitled 14e arrondissement, about a middle-aged american mail carrier from denver. she recites in terrible (but embarrassingly adorable) french what seems like a third grade essay recounting her experience. heartbreakingly poignant, and no difficulty whatsoever in relating to:

sitting there,

alone in a foreign country,

far from my job and everyone i know,

a feeling came over me.

it was like remembering something i'd never known before,

or had always been waiting for,

but i didn't know what.

maybe it was something i'd forgotten,

or something i've been missing all my life.

all i can say is that i felt at the same time,

joy and sadness.

but not too much sadness,

because i felt alive.

yes, alive.