| 2 Days in Paris | |
|---|---|
Promotional poster |
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| Directed by | Julie Delpy |
| Produced by | Julie Delpy Christophe Mazodier Thierry Potok |
| Written by | Julie Delpy |
| Story by | Gustaf Heden |
| Narrated by | Julie Delpy |
| Starring | Julie Delpy Adam Goldberg Daniel Brühl |
| Music by | Julie Delpy |
| Cinematography | Lubomir Bakchev |
| Editing by | Julie Delpy |
| Studio | Red Envelope Entertainment |
| Distributed by | Samuel Goldwyn Films |
| Release date(s) | May 17, 2007 (Germany) July 11, 2007 (France) |
| Running time | 96 minutes |
| Country | France Germany |
| Language | English/French |
| Box office | $19,705,002 (Worldwide)[1] |
2 Days in Paris is a 2007 French-German romantic drama film written, produced, and directed by Julie Delpy, who also edited the film and composed the soundtrack.
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Marion is a French-born photographer living in New York City with her neurotic, hypochondriacal, chain-smoking, heavily tattooed American interior designer boyfriend Jack. After a markedly unromantic trip to Venice, which was planned to re-ignite the passion in their relationship, they take a night train to Paris to pick up Marion's cat from her parents and decide to stay for two days. Jack is startled to learn Marion has remained in contact with numerous ex-lovers and becomes increasingly uncomfortable due to the language barrier and a multitude of her old flames she keeps meeting. Meanwhile, Marion wrestles with her own insecurities about love, relationships, and her impulsive nature.
The film was shot on location in Paris. Sites included Gare Du Nord train station, Pasteur station in the Paris Métro and the grave of Jim Morrison in Père Lachaise Cemetery.
The film premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival. It went into theatrical release in Germany on May 17, 2007 and was shown at the Seattle International Film Festival, the Tremblant Film Festival in Canada, the Los Angeles Film Festival, and Paris Cinéma before going into theatrical release in France on July 11 and the United States on August 10.
In the Chicago Sun-Times, Roger Ebert called Julie Delpy "an original, a woman who refuses to be defined or limited" and said she "has made a smart film with an edge to it... What she has done here is avoid all temptation to recycle the usual lovers-in-Paris possibilities, and has created two original, quirky characters so obsessed with their differences that Paris is almost a distraction."[2]
Stephen Holden of The New York Times said the film "is an inside-out version of the much-admired Richard Linklater films Before Sunrise and Before Sunset, in which Ms. Delpy and Ethan Hawke portray a French-American pair who meet, part and reunite years later. Where Mr. Linklater’s movies were weepies for the kind of educated, upscale young cosmopolites who have a soft spot for romances like Casablanca, Ms. Delpy’s examination of modern love among the almost young and still restless is bracingly hard-headed."[3]
In her review for the Los Angeles Times, Carina Chocano said, "At first blush, 2 Days in Paris looks like it's going to be the story of a culture-clashing couple. But slowly and rather slyly, Delpy zeros in on something much more subtle and complex. What interests her are not the superficial differences between people from different countries... but the way in which the distances between people, genders and cultures (the very distances we rely on to grant us the perspective needed to see how completely insane other people, genders, cultures really are) seem to shift constantly according to circumstances."[4]
Julie Delpy was nominated for the César Award for Best Writing, the European Film Awards Audience Award for Best Film, and the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Film. The film won the Coup de Cœur Award from the Mons International Festival of Love Films.
In Feb 2010 it was announced a sequel was to be made titled 2 Days In New York. Actress/director Julie Delpy will be reteaming with Rezo Films to produce the "atypical sequel." She will direct the sequel in Manhattan in October. Delpy will reprise her role as Marion, a Frenchwoman who now finds herself in New York with her child and a new guy, having broken up with her 2 Days In Paris lover (and the father of her child) who was played by Adam Goldberg.
"It's about the difficulty of relationships but also about the main character's evolution in general. It's a very modern story about the complexities of being a woman and not being completely consumed by your partner," Delpy explained. Comedian Chris Rock confirmed on Howard Stern November 8, 2010 that he is set to play the "new guy" in the film. Delpy is aiming to have this sequel finished and ready by Cannes 2011. Other members of the Paris cast, including Delpy's real father Albert, will return to their same roles for the film.[5]