Grand Paris: The President and the Architect

In 2007, French President Nicolas Sarkozy announced an ambitious urban renewal project for Paris, enlisting an international group of 10 architects the following year to help design a plan for transforming the capital into a model metropolis for the new century—one that would be ecologically responsible and economically vibrant while breaking down social and financial barriers between city and suburbs. Bregtje van der Haak's documentary follows the process through the opening of the 2009 exhibition presenting the results of the effort. Punctuated by excerpts from the speech in which Sarkozy laid out his intent, Grand Paris primarily focuses on one of the participants, Dutch architect Winy Maas, showing him and his staff analyzing the urban landscape and preparing elaborate computer graphics for their presentation. But the film also touches on the other architects, briefly covering the group's meetings with government officials at both the central and local levels, while also sharing earlier, unrealized versions of the proposal. The documentary takes a realistic but not cynical view, pointing out that some of the participants disagreed with the president's politics and suspected his motives, while also looking at how the economic downturn of 2008 affected the initial grand vision (in the end, what seems to have emerged—at least in the initial phase—appears to be little more than a plan to revamp mass transit). Regardless of the eventual outcome, Grand Paris is an inspirational reminder that architects—and even some politicians—remain willing to think big, even if the chances of achieving what they imagine are remote. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)