Zerbinetta (Jane Archibald) tries to convince Ariadne (Ricarda Merbeth) to lighten up a little. Photo: Julien Benhamou/Opéra national de Paris With Paris enduring its heaviest snowfalls in years last week and many motorists spending hours stuck in their cars, the … Read More
Daniele Gatti and the Orchestre National de France put on an impeccable performance of Mahler’s Sixth Symphony as part of the Mahler Cycle in Paris. Photo © Radio France: Christophe Abramowitz Many of the world’s great cities are celebrating (if … Read More
Zerbinetta (Jane Archibald) tries to convince Ariadne (Ricarda Merbeth) to lighten up a little. Photo: Julien Benhamou/Opéra national de Paris With Paris enduring its heaviest snowfalls in years last week and many motorists spending hours stuck in their cars, the … Read More
Fine Cast and OrchestraCarry Revived Production The orchestra onstage. Photo © Julien Benhamou It can sometimes be instructive to revisit an operatic production viewed previously, and I was glad to have the chance to see the return of Olivier Py’s … Read More
Grand Themes,Intimate Singing Court scene. Photo © Agathe Poupeney. The appearance of Pierre Corneille’s play Le Cid in 1637 had a long-lasting effect on French cultural life. Not only did its subject matter – the young hero Rodrigue is forced to … Read More
Beautiful Collage Julie Depardieu gives a strong performance. Le Passager, directed by and starring Eric Caravaca, follows in the long line of recent French films dealing with mourning and loss. In this one, a man (played by Caravaca) returns to … Read More
Incestuous Intimacy The film’s characters drop their clothes at every opportunity. Photo: © La Fabrique Films It is a sad fact that much French cinema these days is afflicted by what seems to be terminal laziness. Unfortunately, Chacun sa Nuit … Read More
Faith in French Films Restored Julie-Marie Parmentier as Charly and Kolia Litscher as Nicolas. At the tender age of 24, the actress Isild Le Besco has already directed two films, and each has featured her younger brother Kolia Litscher. In … Read More
Polish Autofiction Lionel (Lionel Baier) and his boyfriend Serge (Stéphane Rentznik), whom he leaves to find his Polish roots. Comme des Voleurs (à l’Est) is young Swiss director Lionel Baier’s second film. His first, Garçon Stupide (2004), although uneven, showed … Read More
Men with andWithout Women Sylvain gets a respite from his lonely life while frolicking with two visiting Parisians. French cinema tends to be overpopulated with dreadful movies set at the seaside in which improbably ugly men pursue and conquer improbably … Read More
