Those who are looking for a "film" at all here are mistaken. Those who find little of interest may not know what to look for. This is an autobiographical sketch of a foreign student in Paris resident in the cité universitaire with pretty good French who's a flaneur, a wanderer, a people-watcher - the best thing to be in this cirty - a hanger-out in Saint Germain and Montparnasse cafés who's blended in, at least enough so she gets invited to hang out at tables and chat. . On top of that she's doing a thesis on Proust. It's almost as classic as sitting in the shadow of Notre Dame reading Madame Bovary while eating a croissant. The narration flows beautifully, conveys the sense of just being, hanging out, in a city that's supremely well-tuned to just such a lifestyle. . It's like an advertisement fore French culture. It would be nice to know more about the making-of than simply who wrote,, shot, and directed but also what discussion went into it.

"Nadja à Paris" is a French French-language live action short film that runs for a bit over 13 minutes and was released back in 1964, so it is already over half a century old. The protagonist you see in here is the late Nadja Tesich and she tells us a bit about her life in Paris as the title already suggests. I believe, not just because of the character having the same first name, that this is a true documentary. Tesich also wrote the screenplay here. The director is the late Eric Rohmer inm the earlier, but not earliest stages of his career. He is definitely more known than his lead here, but there is something missing in terms of charm that other French filmmakers during that time achieved with their black-and-white (short) films. It never feels as defining in terms of how Paris is depicted. The central character never feels really too interesting to watch and same can be said about the minor characters who disappear again as quickly as they enter the picture. Quite a bit of a shame I must say as I really wanted to like this one more than I did eventually. Even the music is forgettable and the savoir-vivre element is missing almost completely. Watch something else instead.

This short will resonate with those, who in that beautifully exploratory, slightly melancholy part of their youthful discoveries of themselves, have lived abroad in a city like Paris - alone. There is no structure to the film, as there is no preordained structure to this exploratory journey. It's done through aimless, open-minded adventures and chance encounters that have an almost deterministic quality to them. This feast of food, art, strangers and friends-- this, Paris offers in abundance.

The film builds to a moving denouement in which the heroine reflects on what Paris has taught her about growing up. Nothing happens, but everything happens.