La vie parisienne: A weirdly charming trip to the past

Is it worth your time?

Honestly, maybe? If you're into dusty, black-and-white French romps from the mid-30s, you'll probably have a decent afternoon. If you need pacing that feels like it wasn't edited with a dull butter knife, you’ll hate it. It’s light, it’s fluffy, and it doesn't care if you're bored.

Mendoza shows up in Paris with his son, who acts like he’s allergic to fun. The whole point is to turn the kid into a human being. It’s a bit like watching a very elaborate, vintage version of those 'stuffy guy gets loosened up' movies, but with more corsets and fewer jokes that land hard.

There's this one scene involving the theater crowd that just drags on. I swear, the actors were just standing around waiting for the director to yell 'cut' so they could grab a sandwich. It’s painfully obvious they were just padding the runtime. But then, you get these weird, tiny moments of genuine spark between the younger characters that almost make up for it.

It reminded me a bit of the aimless energy in Tempêtes, though nowhere near as moody. This one is determined to be sunny, even when the script is clearly struggling to keep the plot from falling over. The way Mendoza's son flips his entire personality after one night out? Yeah, sure. That’s definitely how human emotions work.

Whatever. It’s 1935. We aren't here for psychological realism.

• The costumes are actually pretty great, even if they look a bit itchy.
• The grandfather’s scheme is so transparent it’s almost impressive nobody caught on sooner.
• I spent about ten minutes wondering if that background extra was actually sleeping or just very committed to his role.
• The music is fine, though it gets a little repetitive after the fourth or fifth time they play the same theme.

It’s not a masterpiece. It’s not even a particularly great comedy. But it has this oddly specific warmth to it, like an old sweater you find in the back of a closet. You don't wear it out, but you don't throw it away either. 🎞️