The premise is very simple yet quite clever, and one rather wishes that other filmmakers might collaborate, now, on something similar - a collection of vignettes with no attachment except for taking place in different parts of the same city. Mind you, despite six different filmmakers being involved, writing and directing their own short pieces, in a sense each is further unified by a common look and feel (the cinematography), and by in some capacity showing off the select neighborhood prior to or in the midst of the story being told. Otherwise, Éric Rohmer, Jean-Luc Godard, Jean Douchet, Claude Chabrol, Jean-Daniel Pollet, and Jean Rouch each had something quite different in mind for their segment, and the overall result is a minor delight. 'Paris vu par...,' also known as 'Six in Paris' is no major must-see, but it's a good time and worth exploring, especially for those with an interest in French cinema.
Douchet's tale, set in Saint-Germain-des-Prés, offers light comedy-drama as a young woman learns the hard way about the pig-headed behavior of men looking for a one-night stand. Rouch's story, in Gare du Nord, is a domestic drama in miniature as a young couple argue, with underlying themes of dreams and aspirations versus the reality that later sets in. Pollet and Rohmer, more or less showcasing Rue Saint-Denis and Place de l'Etoile respectively, serve up light comedy, which as the film presents is a welcome palate cleanser after the heavier nature of Rouch's vignette. I'm particularly fond of Rohmer's short as his approach here very much recalls the ethos of silent movies, even including intertitles for some slight exposition. Lastly, we're given two tales that seem most primed to be full-length pictures all by themselves: Godard's, set in Montparnasse-Levallois, tells of a woman who sends telegrams expressing love to two different men but realizes she sent each to the wrong address; Chabrol's, instead simply called "La muette," closes the length with the most severe drama of all, with a household in which the parents argue and their unattended school-age son makes mischief before just shutting out the noise entirely.
Taken as a whole it's entertainment of a more modest nature that 'Paris vu par...' gives us. A couple of these segments might strike more of a chord as they come and go (Rouch's and Chabrol's, in my opinion), but not necessarily all six, though one way or another each is enjoyable in its way. Still, the cast do a fine job across the board, each segment is as well made as it is smartly written, and these ninety-five minutes pass surprisingly quickly. Unless one is a huge fan of someone involved I don't think it's anything one needs to go out of their way to see, but it's worthwhile on its own merits, and best suggested for a quiet day when you're looking for something to watch that doesn't completely require active investment.
