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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Le Gamin au Vélo
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Film
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/ Drama
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Created on Monday, 30 May 2011 23:00
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Published on Monday, 30 May 2011 23:00
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Written by Nick Hammond
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Thomas Doret is impressive as Cyril, while Cécile De France is a bit too glamorous for her role.
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The Dardenne brothers have long been the darlings of the Cannes film festival, winning the Palme d’Or twice (for Rosetta in 1999 and L’Enfant in 2005), and in this year’s ...
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Thomas Doret is impressive as Cyril, while Cécile De France is a bit too glamorous for her role.
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The Dardenne brothers have long been the darlings of the Cannes film festival, winning the Palme d’Or twice (for Rosetta in 1999 and L’Enfant in 2005), and in this year’s festival picking up the Grand Prix for their new movie, Le Gamin au Vélo (The Kid with a Bike).
In many ways, Le Gamin au Vélo follows the pattern of the Dardennes’ previous films, set in the gritty suburban world of their native Belgium and following a young central character. But whereas the earlier movies were almost documentary-like and populated by unknown actors, here casting of the established French actress Cécile De France as Samantha, a hairdresser who takes in the eponymous kid with a bike, 12-year-old Cyril (played by the impressive Thomas Doret), gives the film a less naturalistic but still engrossing ambiance.
Focusing on Cyril’s attempts to escape the care home he has been placed in and to find the father who has abandoned him, the story is at times unbearably sad, not least when Cyril refuses to believe all the signs that his feckless father (played by Dardenne regular Jérémie Renier) has no interest in seeing him. Much of the film is spent following Cyril as he establishes a relationship of sorts with Samantha and falls in with a local drug dealer who uses him to carry out a violent robbery. Although it is somewhat implausible that every character who gets hit over the head with a stick manages to fall unconscious immediately and then wake up 20 minutes later, the narrative progresses at an inexorable pace, and the young Doret has an extraordinary presence on screen. De France seems less at ease as she tries to give a downbeat performance in keeping with the tone of the film but at odds with her innate glamour.
As in many of the Dardennes’ previous films, most scenes in this movie have no backing soundtrack, but the very short orchestral extracts from Beethoven’s fifth piano concerto that punctuate the movie are used to wonderful effect. Only at the very end is the piano part introduced and played at length, resulting in a sense of almost spiritual completion after the grimly spare storyline of the film itself.
Although a Dardenne movie is never going to provide a laugh a minute, the intelligence and delicacy of Le Gamin au Vélo make for a moving and absorbing cinematic experience.
Nick Hammond
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