Paris can wait

Actually, Anne (Diane Lane) was looking forward to spending a few quiet days in the south of France with her husband, Hollywood producer Michael Lockwood (Alec Baldwin), after the media frenzy in Cannes. But he is called to a problematic shoot in Budapest. Anne just doesn't want to accompany him there and so she agrees to let Jacques (Arnaud Viard), her husband's French business partner, drive her to Paris in his car. But a planned short trip turns into a trip lasting several days, during which Jacques shows his companion the beauties and culinary delights of his country. Anne is a little irritated by this at first, but as she just lets herself go and enjoys the time, it also awakens unexpected feelings in her.

Paris Can Wait is the first feature film direction for Eleanor Coppola, wife of legendary filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola (The Godfather, Apocalypse Now). That she hasn't brought a big action epic to the screen at the age of 81 should probably come as little surprise. But a wee bit more pace or a more fleshed out story would have definitely benefited her road trip through France. That's not to say that Paris Can Wait is a bad movie. It's far from that just because of the wonderful imagery and the still extremely adorable Diane Lane. But to be honest, the whole thing could pass for a tourism video with a tiny bit of plot.

because the film revels primarily in the images and Jacques' flowery, passionate descriptions of the landscape and food. And that works really well. As a viewer, you get a great desire to visit the places shown in the film yourself, and would give a lot to trade places with Anne, to feast on the wine and delicacies of the land with a bon vivant like Jacques. But alas, every wine glass brought to the mouth here is deeper than the yet very shallow dramatization. The whole thing is very, very nice to look at, but offers no surprises or dramaturgical high points.

Who just wants to spend 90 minutes of short vacation in France, this can of course be heartily indifferent. Because he gets here for the money really something very fine offered. But if you expect more than just nice pictures, you might soon be overwhelmed by monotony and boredom. Either way, it is absolutely advisable to go to the cinema either with a full stomach or with a safe table reservation for shortly after the movie. Because there's one thing this movie will definitely make you do: hungry! The bottom line is that for the actors, the beautiful pictures and the here and there pleasantly light-footed humor, the film still gets an "A": Worth seeing with small deductions!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp