Being set almost entirely in France, it presented an interesting (albeit quite exaggerated) image of Paris. Shown occasionally were the infamous faire la bise, a hospital, various government officials, and some “typical citizens” (particularly memorably, a very angry man whose entire part in the film was to yell “a**hole” in French). I was actually surprised at how close an analogue French urban culture, as depicted, is to urban culture in America. It was, in a way, eye-opening: My default assumption about France was largely, as I believe most people have experienced, shaped by American films. To actually watch something out of France demonstrated just how wrong my default assumption was, and how similar the French really are to Americans. I would imagine that this is because urban areas tend to be progressive, which means dropping a lot of traditions most people would expect in France, and especially since in major population centers like Paris there is a heavy influx of people from other places, which leads to cultural pollution and the eventual eradication of tradition in tote.
