Parisienne

Who wouldn't want to spend two hours looking at Manil Issa? That's also the problem with this film – she's so beautiful that you're never surprised that she survives all the difficulties she encounters as an immigrant in Paris. You can't help thinking that if she were a man, if she didn't have those looks, if she wasn't so accommodating to all the people she meets, the outcomes would have been very different.

Nevertheless this is an enjoyable film. I particularly liked the portrayal of Paris life and all the different type of people and groups who co-exist there. It was also refreshing to see the snippets of the lectures in the university and realise that there is still room for the intellectual life and that the director wasn't afraid to portray this.

A film that I couldn't help liking but it could have done with a greater sense of jeopardy throughout and a more considered ending.