Fatih Akin also says "New York, I Love You"

New York, I Love You
Directed by: Fatih Akin, Yvan Attal, Randy Balsmeyer, Allen Hughes, Shunji Iwai, Scarlett Johansson, Shekhar Kapur, Joshua Marston, Mira Nair, Natalie Portman, Brett Ratner, Jiang Wen, Andrey Zvyagintsev

Country: USA
Year: 2008
Language: English
Runtime: 112 minutes
Format: Colour/and Black and WhiteHDCAM
Rating: PG

Principal Cast: Eva Amurri, Kevin Bacon, Jacinda Barrett, Justin Bartha, Rachel Bilson, Orlando Bloom, James Caan, Hayden Christensen, Julie Christie, Bradley Cooper, Chris Cooper, Andy Garcia, Taylor Geare, Carla Gugino, Ethan Hawke, John Hurt, Irrfan Khan, Shia LaBeouf, Cloris Leachman, Blake Lively, Heather Matarazzo, Drea de Matteo, Emilie Ohana, Natalie Portman, Nicholas Purcell, Maggie Q, Shu Qi, Christina Ricci, Olivia Thirlby, Goran Visjnic, Eli Wallach, Saul Williams, Robin Wright Penn, Anton Yelchin, Burt Young, Ugur Yücel

International Sales Agent: QED International

And who doesn't love The Big Apple? In a series of overlapping love stories all set in New York City, thirteen directors and a huge, star-studded cast range from Central Park to Chinatown, the Village, the Upper East Side and Coney Island, all in search of what makes the heart beat faster. It turns out the city that never sleeps never stops pining either.

In the Diamond District, a young Hasidic bride (Natalie Portman) negotiates with a Jain man from India (Irrfan Khan) over a diamond purchase, each flirting with the other's culture and finding surprising common ground. In a cramped downtown apartment, a musician (Orlando Bloom) rushes to finish a soundtrack for an animated film. The director, through an intermediary, keeps pushing him to read Dostoevsky. And when that intermediary (Christina Ricci) turns up on his doorstep, Russian literature suddenly comes alive.

And so it goes, one lovely sliver of love after another, some of them overlapping. Ethan Hawke turns in a firecracker performance as a sidewalk romancer, trying to lure a gorgeous woman (Maggie Q) from the curb to his apartment. Two lovers rush to meet for the first time after a one-night stand, each anxious with nerves. Anton Yelchin plays a guy who finds his last-minute prom date (Olivia Thilby) to be full of surprises. And in one of the film's most haunting stories, the magnificent Julie Christie plays a famous opera singer who returns to her favourite Manhattan hotel. She's brought not just her luggage, but her baggage too.

Like a collection of New Yorker stories, some of the sequences in New York, I Love You carry gratifying twists, while others simply capture telling moments. The directors of this omnibus film are a global bunch, including Joshua Marston, Mira Nair, Natalie Portman, Fatih Akin, Shunji Iwai, Brett Ratner and Scarlett Johansson, as well as Shekhar Kapur, who stepped in to complete a contribution by the late Anthony Minghella. New York has never had it so good.

Cameron Bailey

Fatih Akin‘s films include Crossing the Bridge: The Sound of Istanbul (05) and The Edge of Heaven (07). Yvan Attal recently made the film Ils se marièrent et eurent beaucoup d'enfants (04). Randall Balsmeyer has directed episodes for the series Between the Lions (00) and On the Record with Bob Costas (01). Allen Hughes has co-created Menace II Society (93) and From Hell (01). Shunji Iwai is the award-winning writer and director of All About Lily Chou-Chou (01). Scarlett Johansson has appeared in such films as Ghost World (01) and Lost in Translation (03). Shekhar Kapur directed Elizabeth: The Golden Age (07), a Gala presentation at last year's Festival. Joshua Marston is the writer and director of Maria Full of Grace (04). Mira Nair wrote and directed Monsoon Wedding (01) and The Namesake (06). Natalie Portman has has starred in numerous films including Closer (04) and V for Vendetta (05). Brett Ratner directed the films Red Dragon (02) and X-Men: The Last Stand (06). Jiang Wen's films include Devils on the Doorstep (00) and The Sun Also Rises (07). Andrey Zvyagintsev directed The Return (03) and The Banishment (07).