Photo of the Week
Another view of the Centre Pompidou. Photo © Darren Palmer of Paris by Photo.
Wednesday, 30 May 2012 00:00
Paris Update What's New in Paris
RESTAURANT/CLUB/CAFE
Wanderlust: Finally, part of Les Docks, Cité de la Mode et Design will open to the public on June 6. Brunch on the terrace, take a yoga class, take in a concert or dance all night. 34, quai d'Austerlitz, 75013 Paris.
SHOPS
Stella Cadente: The designer of very feminine clothing and accessories has a new Paris store that's like a gold-lined tunnel. 102 boulevard Beaumarchais, 75011 Paris.
Ecolo-Chic: Pop-up store in the Marais selling ethically resourced products, from toys and design to organic wine. 90, rue des Archives, 75003 Paris.
SMOKING
A new organization, L'Union pour les Droits des Fumeurs Adultes, has been formed to lobby for the rights of French smokers
JUSTIN ON THE ROOFTOPS
Keep your eyes peeled: Justin Bieber will be filming for the Web TV program live@home in an undisclosed location on the rooftops of Paris on the evening of May 31. Click here to win a pass to the taping.
Wednesday, 30 May 2012 00:00
Paris Update Flash News
CAKE THE WAY WE LIKE IT
Goodies on display at Merce and the Muse.
Nowadays, American expatriates in Paris can easily satisfy almost all their nostalgic food cravings, from hamburgers to Reese’s peanut-butter cups or Oreo cookies. Until Merce and the Muse opened in the Upper Marais, however, it wasn’t easy to find good homemade, American-style cakes. The desserts at this homey, flea-market-furnished café are not just good, they are scrumptious and original, made from owner Merce Muse’s own recipes. The other day I shared a slice of chocolate layer cake with vanilla icing and another of pistachio cake with rose icing with a friend, but in truth I wanted to eat all of both of them. 1 bis, rue Dupuis, 75003 Paris. Tel.: 09 53 14 53 04. Open Tues.-Sun. for breakfast, lunch and coffee; brunch on Sunday. Heidi Ellison
Paris Update This Week's Events
For full details about an event, click on its name to visit the official Web site (in English when available).
 Art Saint-Germain-des-Prés
>Left Bank gallery walk. Collective opening, May 31, 6pm. May 31-June 3.
Carré Rive Gauche
>Another Left Bank gallery walk, with 120 participating galleries. June 1-June 3.
Champs-Elysées Film Festival
>A new Franco-American film festival, presided over by Lambert Wilson and Michael Madsen. Various locations, Paris, June 6-12.
Chartre en Lumières
> The town of Chartres illuminates its monuments and the cathedral with colorful light installations. Through Sept. 15.
Designer's Days
>Design shops, galleries, schools and more participate in a city-wide design event. Various locations, Paris, May 31-June 4.
Festival de l'Imaginaire
> Performances by troupes from around the world, Maison des Cultures du Monde, Paris, through June 17.
Festival de Saint Denis
> Music festival featuring both stars like Sir Colin Davis and young talents; ends with a dawn performance by horse whisperer Bartabas and oud player Mehdi Haddab, Cathedral and Legion of Honor, Saint Denis, through June 30.
Festival Extensions
> Concerts, dance, films and more, various locations, Paris and Val de Marne, through May 31.
Festival International des Jardins de Chaumont-sur-Loire
>"Gardens of delights, gardens of delirium" is the theme of this year's garden festival, Chaumont-sur-Loire, through Oct. 21.
Festival Jazz à Saint-Germain-des-Prés
>Jazz acts ranging from amateur to big names like Ahmad Jamal and Yusef Lateef (together). Various locations, Paris, Through June 3.
Le Court en Dit Long
>Festival of short films. Centre Wallonie-Bruxelles, Paris, June 4-9.
Nomades
>Cultural festival in the third arrondissement; art, poetry, concerts and more. Various locations, Paris, May 31-June 3.
Quinzaine des Réalisateurs
>The features and short subjects entered in this category at the Cannes Film Festival shown in Paris, Forum des Images, Paris, May 31-June 10
Salon du Vin de La Revue du Vin de France
>Annual wine fair. Palais Brongniart, Paris, June 2-3
|
Les Amours Imaginaires
-
Film
-
/ Drama
-
Created on Wednesday, 06 October 2010 23:00
-
Published on Wednesday, 06 October 2010 23:00
-
Written by Nick Hammond
|
|
|
Twenty-one-year-old director/screenwriter Xavier Dolan plays the lovelorn Francis in his second film, Les Amours Imaginaires. Photo: Clara Palardy
|
Canadian filmmaker Xavier Dolan is almost indecently precocious. After writing, directing and starring in the favorably received J’Ai Tué Ma Mère (2009), he has now done the same ...
|
|
|
Twenty-one-year-old director/screenwriter Xavier Dolan plays the lovelorn Francis in his second film, Les Amours Imaginaires. Photo: Clara Palardy.
|
Canadian filmmaker Xavier Dolan is almost indecently precocious. After writing, directing and starring in the favorably received J’Ai Tué Ma Mère (2009), he has now done the same thing in his second film, Les Amours Imaginaires. And he’s still only 21.
The story of Les Amours Imaginaires is simple: friends Francis (Dolan) and Marie (Monia Chokri) both fall under the spell of the seductive and beautiful Nicolas (Niels Schneider). The entire movie revolves around their developing relationship with Nicolas and the effect this has on their own friendship.
Dolan vividly evokes the all-too-familiar scenario of a charming man who seems to prefer the ambiguity of flirtation to the reality of commitment, and Schneider is perfectly cast to play the role. (Another actor known for his sexually ambiguous roles, Louis Garrel, makes a fleeting appearance at the end of the film.) However, with such a thin plotline, Dolan often resorts to style over substance, using frequent slow-motion shots and lingering glances in a way that is reminiscent of Wong Kar-wai’s exquisite-to-look-at but, to my mind, vapid In the Mood for Love (2000).
At its best, the camera work is wonderfully controlled and visually ravishing. Marie is done up to resemble Audrey Hepburn and Francis to look like James Dean (the comparison is openly signaled during the movie); and the subtlety of both Dolan and Chokri’s performance is impressive. One scene in particular – in which Nicolas’s mother (beautifully played by Anne Dorval) and Francis have a conversation about Nicolas – manages to be comic, poignant and poetic at the same time.
The director betrays his youth, however, by overusing various stylistic traits and depending too much on the admittedly well-chosen soundtrack (Dalida’s “Bang Bang,” Bach’s cello suites, and the prelude to Wagner’s Parsifal). And, while the short clips of other people talking about their love lives are amusing or touching, they add little to the film itself.
The Quebec accent and vocabulary are often incomprehensible to French audiences, and for that reason parts of the movie include French subtitles, but why were some scenes subtitled and not others?
Dolan is clearly a great talent. His best may be yet to come, just so long as he relies a little less on style and a lot more on substance in his future movies.
Nick Hammond
Support Paris Update by ordering films, music and books from the Paris Update store: U.K., France, U.S.
More film reviews.
Reader Reaction:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
to respond to this article (your response may be published on this page and is subject to editing).
© 2010 Paris Update
|
