Why Tabitha Looks So Familiar

In 2006, the film world witnessed the release of a franchise that would produce several more installments in the following 13 years, and with the unique distinction of marshaling international resources each time over: The "Cities of Love" series, created and idealized by French film producer Emmanuel Benbihy. 

Consisting of anthology films that tell multiple short stories of love and connection, with each film taking place in a certain major world metropolis and attempting to capture its spirit from various perspectives, the series was kicked off by "Paris, je t'aime," which was followed up by "New York, I Love You" in 2008, "Tbilisi, I Love You" and "Rio, I Love You" in 2014, and "Berlin, I Love You" in 2019.

"Paris, je t'aime" is made up of eighteen segments by different directors, and Catalina Sandino Moreno stars in the one helmed by Brazilian filmmakers Walter Salles and Daniela Thomas, set in the 16th arrondissement and titled "Loin du 16e." The segment is centered around a young Latin American immigrant woman who has to split her time between her own home and child and the mansion where she works as a babysitter to a rich employer's baby, taking long, draining commutes to and from work. Although sparse and minimalist in both structure and dramaturgy, featuring minimal, mostly Spanish-language dialogue, Salles and Thomas's short is one of the most crucial and best-remembered pieces in the film's sprawling mosaic of Parisian life.