Paris Can Wait is the kind of feel good movie you might expect from Diane Lane as she portrays a woman who is more lost than she knows and unwittingly takes the first steps towards finding herself.
The film is not only portrayed through the eye of the camera of director and writer Eleanor Coppola but embraces us through some stunning visuals through the stills camera of Lane's character Anne.
It's a bucket list road trip with more than a few surprises. It's the trip I want to take but never (yet) have. Before even the end of the film I wanted to book a ticket. Perhaps Paris Can Wait will inspire you too.
Heading north from Cannes, a day trip turns into a classic French road trip starting with luscious purple fields of lavender of Provence. Although times are changing, the French reverence of food is quite different to ours, so of course a road trip through the country encompasses a gourmet tour, And it's a classic one at that. And with it goes wine. Think Lyon. Think Burgundy. For anyone that has more than a passing interest in classic culinary pleasures Paris Can Wait is worth the price of the ticket. Even if it creates longing.
And the surprises? Perhaps they were personal. Yes, Paris Can Wait exactly matched my wish French travel list. With the above. With the Church of Saint Lazare at Avallon, And the birthplace of cinema at the museum house of the Lumière brothers. And then some.
In the most part this movie is utterly charming.
Yet beyond the beauty of these gourmet and cinematographic delights there were times I found the movie slightly grating. My big bug bear was the pitch to the mainstream American audience and its disconnect with French culture. Some things seem over explained. There are moments that are a tad too cliche. Particularly in the rift between cultures and love interests. Plus there are those parts when our Australian audience laughs at quite frankly just the wrong times.
Gripes aside, a movie ticket is a small price to pay to go on holidays, especially when the itinerary is as idyllic as this. In the hands of another actor Paris Can Wait could be a miss. Yet with the gentle soft curiosity that Diane Lane brings to her part, the movie captures our hearts.
Paris Can Wait opens in Australian cinemas on Thursday July 20th.
