Paradisco (2002)
present and past magically emerge
14 March 2003
As forty year old François reminisces to Nicolas, a 20 year old who's just stayed the night with him, about parties that he used to share with his friends, present and past magically emerge them back to a party at the turn of the 80's, they see his friends but they obviously don't see them. François remembers all their hopes and dreams at those times and he realises how many of these friends are no longer with him. The party is fun and energetic which gives him many nostalgic feelings about his lost friends, but he enjoys showing his past to his new young lover.

It may sound melancholic, but it is in fact quite humorous in places, very tender and optimistic. It's just 18 mins long but envelops many emotions into its short time frame. As the two lovers depart towards the end, that single kiss that they share leaves you with the feeling that François, has hopefully found in his lover a new chapter in his own life. The melodic tune, which is played throughout the short film is extremely memorable, and I'll bet you're humming along after you've watched the story!

The musical is very well acted and directed and a credit to French short film-making -it's also the first of it's kind on DVD, I believe. I'd now love to see a feature length film by Stephane Ly-Cuong. The DVD has the added advantage of coming with English sub-titles, so there is no need to understand the French Language to fully appreciate it. Many bonus features are also contained within the DVD, with some fabulous behind the scenes footage.
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