Nick Hammond
Un Cœur Simple
Tragic Félicité
Adapting the great 19th-century novelist Gustave Flaubert for the screen has always been a tricky process. Claude Chabrol’s 1991 version of Madame Bovary, for example, never manages to capture the mordant irony of the original text. And provincial boredom, while … Read More
Il y a longtemps que je t’aime
Murder Mystery
Judging by the wildly diverse reviews that Il y A Longtemps que Je T ’Aime (I’ve Loved You So Long) has received, it seems likely that you will either love or hate it. As I tend to complain rather frequently … Read More
Le Voyage du Ballon Rouge
Length before Strength
Inspired by Albert Lamorisse’s celebrated 34-minute film dating from 1956, Le Ballon Rouge, the Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-Hsien has made a considerably longer movie on the same subject: a small boy is followed through Paris by a mysterious red balloon. … Read More
Mélac Bistrot à Vins
Through the Grapevine No shortage of wine here. With the smoking ban in French restaurants about to take effect on January 1, 2008, it is well worth praising a pioneer like Jacques Mélac, who has had a no-smoking policy for … Read More
Ce que Mes Yeux Ont Vu
Free Inspiration
This is a film full of good intentions. In his first full-length movie, Laurent de Bartillat has assembled a top-class cast, led by the wonderfully versatile Sylvie Testud (how many other young actresses are willing to be portrayed in unglamorous … Read More
Troyes
Treasures of Troyes Inside the Troyes cathedral. If you are considering a day or two away from Paris, Troyes is the ideal town to visit, only an hour and a half away by train and full of pleasant surprises. In … Read More
L’Heure Zéro
Overbaked Christie
Take an Agatha Christie novel, transport it to an old-fashioned house on the Brittany coast in the 21st century, throw in a few actresses who have even more famous parents (Laura Smet, daughter of Johnny Hallyday and Nathalie Baye, and … Read More
Un Secret
Don't Mention theWar
French filmmakers seem to remain as obsessed as ever with the German occupation of France during World War II. As one French friend of mine remarked recently, from the number of films about the subject, you would think that the … Read More
Vélib’
Bicycles Built for Two? Is the the Vélib’ dating service just around the corner? Photo © Paris Update Something extraordinary happened in Paris this summer. Normally surly Parisians were smiling at each other in the street. Some were even doing … Read More
La Vie Privée
Unknowable Fragments
One of the magical things about Paris is that you can step into the only cinema where a new French film is showing and discover a gem. I remember a few years ago a film, directed by Olivier Jahan, called … Read More