TO PARIS, AND MOVIEGOERS, WITH LOTS OF LOVE.

Byline: Bob Strauss

Film Critic

'Paris, Je T'aime" is a collection of 18 short films by 21 directors from all over the world, each set in a different arrondissement, or district, of the French capital.

These kinds of omnibus projects usually come out middling at best.

Different filmmakers' sensibilities tend to work against one another's while, a bit paradoxically, the limited amount of screen time tends to inhibit each one's creative strengths.

So it's rather unexpected, and happily so, that "Paris, Je T'aime" is amusing, engaging and really well-crafted almost all the way through. Inevitably, some vignettes are cleverer or more touching than others (as the title indicates, the unifying subject of each piece is love), but the overall level of intelligence and quirky invention is remarkably high.

Simply put, the film is a delight. But not a lightweight one, a la "Avenue Montaigne" or "The Valet." Many of these little encounters strike deep and true emotional chords; a few are flat-out tragic. And while there's no shortage of whimsy, even most of that has some underlying dramatic heft.

Except, maybe, for the mime sequence. OK, you've been warned.

There's not room here to examine all 18 sections. So, some highlights:

Joel and Ethan Coen's hilarious and kind of frightening Metro encounter between Steve Buscemi's sad-sack tourist and a provocative young couple.

Australian-turned-China's-favorite-cinematographer Christopher Doyle's style fantasia set in an Asian beauty salon.

A tricky tale of intergenerational love starring Nick Nolte and "Swimming Pool's" Ludivine Sagnier, directed by Mexico's great Alfonso Cuaron ("Children of Men").

Rising local auteur Olivier Assayas' moving tone poem of possible connection between an American actress (Maggie Gyllenhaal) and a drug dealer (impressive newcomer Lionel Dray).

Canadian Vincenzo Natali's ("Cube") eerie, yet somehow kind of cute, vampire romance with Elijah Wood.

A visit to the famous artists' cemetery Pere Lachaise guided by Wes Craven, which manages to work in a ghost but really has no trace of the director's usual horror business.

And a lovely little inner-monologued stroll with a middle-age American woman on her awkward but enriching first visit to the City of Light. It bears all the snarky wit and sneaky humanism we expect from "Sideways" director Alexander Payne.

Suspended rather delightfully between art film and touristy bonbon, "Paris, Je T'aime" is, unsurprisingly, a tribute to a city that everybody loves. What we couldn't have guessed is how well it appreciates that Paris is the place where cinephilia was essentially born, and strives to be a valentine to movie lovers as well.

Bob Strauss, [phone]

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PARIS, JE T'AIME - Three stars

(R: sex, nudity, violence, language)

Starring: Juliette Binoche, Gerard Depardieu, Ben Gazzara, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Nick Nolte, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Natalie Portman, Gena Rowlands, Ludivine Sagnier, Elijah Wood.

Director: Assorted.

Running time: 2 hr.

Playing: Playhouse 7, Pasadena; Sunset 5, West Hollywood; Monicas, Santa Monica; Westpark 8, Irvine; Rancho Niguel 8, Laguna Niguel.

In a nutshell: Different directors made 18 short films about love in various districts of Paris. The internationally flavored result is surprisingly, consistently good. In multiple languages, primarily French and English.