French Thoughts in October

The ile-de-France Film Group sent us questions about Paris. Of course I wrote very long answers which I then had to edit for the newspaper. However, I thought might as well pop the long version on the blog since it was written. More to come on yesterdays adventure in the Louvre later. It was closed and they let us in to roam around with a guide. If you can imagine what it is like for 7 people to walk through the Louvre alone with all that art at your fingertips, it's pretty surreal.

So here are the questions and answers. Enjoy.

What does the Ile-de France mean to me. What does it evoke.


1. Paris evokes strong feelings in me because it I have always felt it is a city that needs artists in order to express it’s complexities – the architects, designers, painters, musicians, writers, performers, all give the city something it has to have in order to exist. That being said, the city gives artists inspiration – inspiration that comes from the place itself – there is something in the land, in the shape of the Seine, the way in which the Ile Saint Louis evolved and became the heart of the city that creates a desire to belong. An energy exists in the bedrock of Paris. The energy is instantly challenging, beautiful, and addictive. It pulls you in and says, “This is part of you and you know it…” It is really impossible to put into words because it is intuitive. I have always thought that Paris came from man’s need for beauty and a place to see, create and experience beauty. To look at Paris as you cross over the Pont d’ Alma and look at the view around you, everywhere your eye rests is breathtaking. It is as if the city sprang from the mind of a brilliant artist, everything is in the right place and invites you to dive in.


2. What particular images does Paris evoke? When I think of Paris, I first see in my mind the Jardin de Luxembourg in the late spring – flowers everywhere, children playing, dogs being walked by their owners, the carousel, the fountain, the palace, the sense that there was all the time in the world. My very first moments in Paris, years ago, I walked to the Jardin. From the Jardin I went to La Coupole for dinner. Strolling down Rue Vavin to the Raspail and Montparnesse, I passed the shops, the green pharmacy crosses, the inviting boutiques; there was a papiere, a linen shop, a fromagerie, which all still live in my memory of that first day. (And the room at La Coupole, grand, elegant, fun. I had salade frisee, frite and vin rogue, served by a very young, very cute waiter who had a great head of dark hair, a lovely smile -- right out of – a movie.)

To me the Jardin and the walk to La Coupole are always special images because they were first and they were wonderful.

3. Historical Event. Being a lover of history I would have to say the French Revolution, and within that the speech Thomas Paine made to the Assembly about mercy which marked the beginning of the Terrors. One of the most dramatic and compelling and passionate moments in French history were those three days when they discussed the vote to execute Louis Capet.

4. Writer? Impossible to mention one. That would be like asking someone to name a favorite note in Mozart’s “Symphony # 40” or I suppose I should say in Debussys’ “Pavane pour Une Infante Defunte” since it is French and I love it so much. The first writer that is Paris to me is Balzac –(Love that statue by Rodin.) However, to mention Balzac means I must at least add; Colette, Alexander Dumas, Voltaire, Sartre and Rilke, .

5. Director. Patrice Leconte captivates me no matter what subject he approaches with his films. And of the grand masters of the past, Jean Renoir and François Truffaut.


6. Favorite Paris Film. It is impossible to name one and hard not to make a very long list

Les Enfant du Paradis – Stunning visually, it captured the life of artists on the streets.

The Beat My Heart Skipped (Da batter mon Coeur s’est arrete) - So compelling I sat through it twice. I liked the world of the Paris gangsters and the journey of the main character who struggled in his choice between beauty and violence, within himself and within his life in Paris.

The Girl on the Bridge – Vanessa Paradis and Daniel Auteuil looking amazing, and making every woman want to go to that bridge and find Daniel Auteuil and join a knife throwing act. And while they travel the Mediterranean, they both want to end up in Paris. What more is there to say?

Funny Face – Beautiful, Audrey Hepburn, winged victory, jazz, black turtle necks, dancing, up all night and dancing with Fred Astaire.

An American in Paris – music, anything is possible, and Leslie Caron is magic and Gene Kelly dances in French.

Hunchback of Notre Dame – Charles Laughton as Quasimoto – that’s brilliant acting. For a film shot in the back lot in Hollywood you’d swear the film was shot in the period. Maureen O’Hara is ravishing as Esmeralda and the story makes me weep every time I see it. I am sure this is the first film I saw as a young child that made me want to go to Paris. I wanted to see where Quasimodo lived and saved the girl.

Amelie - This film made Sacre-Coeur look entirely modern and Paris a magical-realism dream. Funny, moving, charming, compelling and Audrey Tatou gets the handsome, down-to-earth man at the end.

7. What best characterizes Franco-American relations? Like most relationships – we both think the other one is crazy and love them to bits anyway.