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The varied stories of
New York, I Love You combine to recreate the ambience of TALK about glorifying any city and the two cities most glorified by Hollywood are Paris and New York, not necessarily in that order. There have been a maximum number of films on these two cities, so much so that when one lands there you have to kick yourself to believe you actually are there.
Then in the 1970s, there were two American filmmakers Martin Scorsese and Paul Mazursky, whose films were based in New York and made that city amenable to everyone. In fact, the lyrics of "New York, New York" itself do more to enchant the viewer to "the city that never sleeps" in Scorcese’s film of the same name. Sung with ample gusto by Liza Minnelli, it reverberates with retrospective glee to those who have grown to find the Big Apple a happening place. There are so many New Yorkisms, the crowded streets, the busy traffic lights (when crossing on an amber never catch the eye of the motorist, who is sure to run you down), the friendly cabbie rides, the multi-culturism, Broadway binging or Central Park strolling, skyscraper gazing or even Fifth Avenue ambling. In the latest film of its kind, New York, I Love You offers you all this and much more through the deft strokes and somewhat pallid form. This brainchild of producer Emmanuel Benbihy, who began with the Parisian ode Paris Je t’Aime and proposes to make more "I Love You" films on Rio, Shanghai and Mumbai and Jerusalem, is a mixed bag and expectedly so because we have 10 different episodic stories by 10 different directors, who give their takes in some memorable encounters. They are among others our own Shekhar Kapur, Mira Nair, Brett Ratner, Natalie Portman, Fatih Akin and Allen Hughes and a colourful cast of Bradley Cooper, Natalie Portman, Julie Christie, Anton Lechin and Orlando Bloom. In a varied, episodic entertainer of this kind, it is hard to pick and choose but each one will have his or her favourite episode. But they all combine to give on an ambience that is truly unmistakable and you scan almost every nook and cranny of the Big Bad Apple. The flavour is distinct and so is the pace, accompanied with tasteful music and some little gems of narrative. I particularly loved Shekhar Kapur’s enigmatic little analysis of suicide, where Julie Christie, an erstwhile opera singer checks in on the top floor of her favourite Manhattan hotel and encounters a friendly bellhop Shia Lebouf. Penned by the late British director Anthony Mingella is sheer visual poetry with its hazy exteriors. Both Christie and Lebouf are just brilliant. Brett Ratner’s funky coming of age prom night date story between a high school student and teenage method actress Olivia Triliby and Joshua Marston’s tribute to growing old in Manhattan. In this 10-minute feature, a wizened Eli Wallach (a 1970s favourite) and his elderly wife Cloris Lechman celebrate their 60-odd years wedding anniversary. It is a stuff that is sure to warm the cockles of some dear old hearts. New York, I Love You
may be a bit over the top as far as sentiment is concerned but with so
many participants one cannot but expect a film seeming to pull in
different directions. But it surely warrants a dekko and not only by
the old. The young guns, too, are sure to lap it up.
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