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Awaiting a heart transplant, Moulin Rouge dancer Romain Duris realises how much he loves Paris life as he watches it pass by his apartment window. If the interwoven tales that ensue hold few surprises, a stellar cast brings them spark. Juliette Binoche credibly de-glams as a love-wary single mum with a crush on a market vendor (Albert Dupontel), while Karin Viard stands out as a comically grotesque racist baker. Writer/director Cédric Klapisch’s (Pot Luck, Russian Dolls) wry streak of humour saves the ‘seize the day’ message from corniness, even as it’s hammered out by the lyrics of the soundtrack. Varied strands – a catwalk show set against illegal immigrants leaving Cameroon, for example – deftly reveal the city’s contradictions, while its downsides (Parisians as eternal grumblers) are acknowledged with warm affection.
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