Luc Besson

Today I want to write a few words about one of my favorite, it not the favorite, director Luc Besson.
Born in 1959, Luc Besson spent the first years of his life following his parents, scuba diving instructors, around the world. He already showed amazing creativity as a youth, writing early drafts of Grand bleu, Le (1988) and The Fifth Element (1997), as an adolescent bored in school. He planned on becoming a marine biologist specializing in dolphins until a diving accident at age 17 which rendered him unable to dive any longer. He moved back to Paris, where he was born, and only at age 18 did he first have an urban life or television. He realized that film was a medium which he could combine all his interests in various arts together, so he began taking odd jobs on various films. He moved to America for three years, then returned to France and formed Les Films de Loups - his own production company, which later changed its name to Les Films de Dauphins. He is now able to dive again.

I'll write just a few of his titles that I love:
Leon the Professional - ranks in first top 5 of my favorite movies
Nikita - again, has to be in top 10 of my favorite movies
The Big Blue, The 5th element, Taxi, Subway, Angel A, The Transporter, Danny the Dog, Colour me Kubric, Hitman,... and others. It's really amazing how much creativity and talent some people have.
(P.S. Amazon created a nice Luc Besson collection, take a look).

Here's a song by Slovenian singer (Anja Garbarek), based on Angel A movie, that's also featured in the movie. Have a listen, it's great..

Paris Je T'aime

Ok, here's another quirky movie for you: Paris Je T'aime. You take 21 directors, give each 5 minutes, set it in Paris and base it around "love". The result is an interesting representation about love and Paris from different points of view. I remember reading about this movie a year ago or something, when I was still a big Natalie Portman fan. It features great directors like Tom Tykwer (True, Run Lola, Rum,..), Isabel Coixet (My life without me, The secret life of words,..) and Wes Craven (The nightmare on elm street, Scream,..), among many. The actors list is impressive as well: Steve Buscemi, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Juliette Binoche, Willem Defoe, Nick Nolte, Ludivine Sagnier, Bob Hoskins, Elijah Wood, Emily Mortimer, Natalie Portman, Gerard Depardieu,.. to name a few. There are a few sections that are a bit strange or odd, but it's just 5 min, you can get through then, believe me. I'd give it 8/10.