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
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Soit Je meurs, soit Je Vais Mieux
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Film
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/ Drama
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Created on Tuesday, 22 July 2008 23:00
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Published on Sunday, 22 February 2009 21:45
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Written by James Gascoigne
Double Trouble
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| His mother (Florence Thomassin) tries to extract a kiss out of the unwilling Martial (François Civil). |
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Is it a ploy to draw in the large teenage market during the summer holidays? All the new French films appearing in Paris this week seem to deal with the problems of adolescence: Nos 18 Ans is about high-school pupils preparing to take their end-of-school exams, the bac; Un Monde à Nous revolves around a father and son; Les Grands s’Allongent par Terre is about a daughter and the father she has never met; and, probably the most substantial of the week’s offerings, Soit Je meurs, soit Je Vais Mieux centers on a teenaged boy who moves with his mother, recently abandoned by her husband, to the outskirts of Paris.
Soit Je Meurs is most effective in the naturalistic and perceptive portrayal of daily family and school life. Many scenes are memorable for their inventive and often witty portrayal of isolation: Martial (François Civil) dancing with a skeleton; his ineffectual, needy mother (Florence Thomassin) trying to extract a kiss from her unresponsive son; the excruciating apartment-warming party at which a member of Martial’s class is the sole guest (and only because Martial has paid him to attend); and the evening spent by Martial with his father and his father’s new girlfriend.
Alongside this realism, director Laurence Ferreira-Barbosa has chosen to depict an almost fantastical counterpart represented by the private world of two identical twin sisters (played by Marine and Carine Barbosa), to whom Martial becomes increasingly drawn. The twins, who at first communicate only with each other, lead Martial into breaking and entering luxurious homes, where they enact various rituals that seem to come straight from the theater of Jean Genet. In fact, Ferreira-Barbosa has mentioned that she was inspired by a documentary on two real-life twins who embarked on a life of crime.
Although these scenes have a certain hypnotic quality to them, enhanced by the uncanniness of the twins’ identical expressions and features, the random succession of events makes the pace sag at times. With the movie running at close to two hours, some cuts seem in order, as in so many of today’s films.
This is much more than a run-of-the-mill movie about teenage angst, however, thanks to the excellence of the acting (particularly that of Civil and Thomassin), the sharply written script and the portrayal of the twins’ bizarre world.
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James Gascoigne
© 2008 Paris Update
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