HOLLYWOOD INSIDER: ‘Eiffel’: Paris is, First and Foremost, the City of Love
June 15, 2022
"Paris is as much a media icon as it is a city. Outside of Europe, Paris is often idealized as a city of love, culture, and lavish lifestyles. Writers moved to Paris to produce their best work, the American in Paris became a troupe in itself. So, in being a media phenomenon, there’s quite a bit of symbolism that tells you right away that a story is set in Paris. It could be the cafes and the patrons wearing berets, perhaps a customer leaving a market with a baguette artistically sticking out of a canvas tote. But, primarily, it’s the Eiffel Tower. The Eiffel Tower can be seen in a postcard-worthy background in just about every Parisian set film, episode, or a single scene. It’s iconic, not only as a landmark, tourist attraction, or piece of history, but as a representation of the media’s romanticized Parisian life.
‘Eiffel’ is not the first film to center itself around the tower, but it is unique in the way it represents not just the tower but the man. Gustave Eiffel was the real engineer responsible for the tower, and his story is (sort of) brought to the forefront in this film. "
