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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Un Cœur Simple
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Film
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/ Drama
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Created on Tuesday, 01 April 2008 23:00
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Published on Sunday, 22 February 2009 21:45
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Written by Nick Hammond
Tragic Félicité
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| Félicité (Sandrine Bonnaire) gets instructions from her hard-hearted employer Madame Aubain (Marina Foïs). © Rezo Productions & ARTE France Cinéma |
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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 fascinating when portrayed on the page, becomes simply boring in a dramatized version.
First-time director Marion Laine faces many of the same problems when adapting Flaubert’s late work, the novella Un Cœur Simple, in this new movie version.
Certainly much of the narrative irony is lost when transferred to images, yet the way in which Flaubert manages to make the humdrum life of a simple servant both noble and tragic is conveyed with skill and passion by Laine. Although Laine claims to have freely adapted the novella, this film strikes me as an accurate and often literal representation of the original, respecting both chronology and the characterization of the protagonists.
The story focuses largely on the evolving relationship between the inappropriately named Félicité (Sandrine Bonnaire) and her hard-hearted employer Madame Aubain (Marina Foïs). Félicité successively attaches herself emotionally to a man named Théodore, her mistress’s daughter Virginie, her nephew and, finally, a parrot, but she is abandoned by each in different ways. Fluffy (or even feathery) escapist entertainment this ain’t.
Bonnaire is superlative in the central role. Her body and face progressively bear the marks of the disasters and disappointments that befall her. Although for much of the movie she speaks very little, Bonnaire conveys depth and emotion with an astonishing economy. Foïs is excellent opposite her as we gradually discover that even Madame Aubain, described by Flaubert in the second sentence of his story as “not an agreeable person,” has a human side.
Running at 1 hour and 45 minutes, Un Coeur simple is shorter than most films released these days, but it still feels 15 minutes too long. Overall, though, this is a visually striking and excellently acted film. Even Flaubert might have been pleased with it.
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Nick Hammond
© 2008 Paris Update
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