On the cinema screen, this compilation of 18 shorts raced by like so many Paris Metros: some full, some empty, most hard to tell apart. Its DVD release offers the option to isolate the good (the Coens’ witty critique of Franco-American relations, Nobuhiro Sawa’s beguiling ghost yarn) and great (Tom Tykwer’s high-speed love story, Walter Salles’ moving look at an immigrant nanny’s gruelling day) from the average (Vincenzo Natali’s vampire vignette, Alexander Payne’s bland tourist monologue) and downright ugly (Sylvain Chomet’s mime romance, Gurinder Chadha’s “be tolerant” lecture). The cast reads like a who’s who of cinema (Juliette Binoche, Natalie Portman, Bob Hoskins et al), while the scenery’s a treat.
DVD Extras:
Extras include a 54-minute behind-the-scener.
