Stories of young love in Paris have long been two a sou in French cinema. But the genre is always up for reinvention, and Jacques Audiard rises to the occasion triumphantly in "Paris, 13th District" – exuberantly reinventing his own cinema in the process. The setting is the 13th arrondissement in south-east Paris as the film follows the interconnected travails and amours of three characters – with a fourth stepping unexpectedly into the mix.

A key theme is the problem of alienation in a digital age when website hook-ups may be easy to find but love is trickier. The film depicts the dissatisfactions that today’s amorous economy entails, but in a non-judgmental way that emerges from the characters’ personalities and negotiations with life.

Jonathan Romney, Screen International