This movie season, one of the biggest trends appears to be films being shot in gorgeous black-and-white, from Passing and Belfast to C’mon C’mon and The Tragedy of Macbeth. Joining the ranks is Paris, 13th District, or Les Olympiades, Jacques Audiard’s French adaptation of three stories — “Amber Sweet,” “Summer of Blonde,” and “Hawaiian Getaway” — from American comic-book artist Adrian Tomine’s 2015 graphic novel collection Killing and Dying.
The film centers on three young characters who cross paths in the 13th arrondissement of Paris known for its towering apartment blocks. Émelie (Lucie Zhang) is a French-Taiwanese woman working a dead-end job at a call center and living rent-free in her grandmother’s apartment. While looking for a roommate to rent out her spare room, she meets Camille (Makita Samba), a high-school teacher who becomes her lover before she even offers him the room, although they break it off after Camille makes it clear that he wants a no strings attached relationship.
The third of the bunch is Nora (Noémie Merlant), a woman in her early thirties who moves to Paris from Bordeaux for a fresh start and to return to her law studies. Eager to make friends, she attends a party and decides to spice it up by wearing a blonde wig, only to end up getting mistaken for popular cam girl Amber Sweet (Savages’ Jehnny Beth, who is effortlessly charismatic in the role), which results in her getting cyber-bullied. When she leaves university, Nora begins working in the real estate business again and meets Camille, who has taken time off from teaching to focus on his doctorate and help out his friend’s real estate agency. Eventually, the pair start dating each other, but the trauma of what happened to Nora leads her to contact Amber, and they quickly strike up an unlikely relationship that blossoms and ends on a wonderful note.
Apart from a brief sequence that flashes some color, during which we see Amber in action, the film is shot in lush and moody black-and-white by Paul Guilhaume, who captures the intimate moments beautifully. Despite this, the black-and-white feels pointless at times and doesn’t contribute much to the narrative apart from making the film aesthetically pleasing. It would also be impossible to go without mentioning French electronic artist Rone’s visceral, pulsating synth score that compliments the black-and-white visuals, adds some vibrancy to the film, and captures what it feels like to be a young adult.
At the heart of the film are the amazing quartet of actors who share a natural chemistry between them and imbue each of their well-developed characters with authenticity. Zhang, who makes her acting debut, is a standout, giving an exhilarating performance and portraying Emilie with vulnerability that makes it difficult for us to dislike her. Merlant is also outstanding as Nora, whose story is perhaps the most relatable of the film.
There is a lot of sex in the film, some meaningful and some meaningless, some bad but mainly good, but it’s not there without reason. These scenes never feel exploitative or unnecessary, as they drive the narrative forward and give us better understandings of each character. Audiard, with the help of co-writers Céline Sciamma and Léa Mysius, explores how sex can make people feel less lonely but also leaves behind a sadness, and how it can bring people together momentarily but also push them apart. Living in a digital age where dating apps have changed our perceptions of relationships and make it easier to find hook-ups but difficult to find deeper connections, the characters struggle to find themselves.
While Paris, 13th District seems like another typical French romance at first glance, you’ll quickly realize that it’s a genuine and sexy character study about lonely millennials navigating their complicated love lives in the City of Love.
