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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il y à longtemps que je t'aime
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Film
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/ Drama
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Created on Tuesday, 25 March 2008 23:00
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Published on Sunday, 22 February 2009 21:45
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Written by Nick Hammond
Murder Mystery
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| Juliette (Kristin Scott Thomas) and her new friend Michel (Laurent Grévill) at a museum. |
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Judging by the wildly diverse reviews that Il y A Longtemps que Je T ’Aime (I’ve Loved You So Long) has received, it seems likely that you will either love or hate it. As I tend to complain rather frequently on the pages of Paris Update about the generally dire state of current French cinema, I am relieved to admit to being one of those who loved it.
Kristin Scott Thomas, who seems to be starring in French movies more frequently than in English ones these days, plays Juliette Fontaine, a doctor who has just come out of prison after serving 15 years for murdering her six-year-old son. (Her surname connects to the title of the film, a refrain from a traditional French song, “A la Claire Fontaine,” which is sung briefly in one scene.)
As Juliette tries to find a job and settle back into civilian life, she stays with her much younger sister, literature professor Léa (Elsa Zylberstein), Léa’s lexicographer husband Luc (Serge Hazanavicius) and their two adopted Vietnamese daughters in the eastern French city of Nancy.
The awkwardness and tensions provoked by Juliette’s arrival are beautifully conveyed by the actors and the director, Philippe Claudel. Juliette’s seemingly cold, uncommunicative nature contrasts with Léa’s openness, whereas Luc is understandably wary of having a convicted child murderer in his home.
Inevitably, much of the film revolves around the two sisters becoming reacquainted with each other and the gradual revelation of why Juliette killed her son, but other interesting episodes, both humorous and touching, bring out the complexity of Juliette’s new life: a one-night stand with a local Lothario, her budding friendship with one of Léa’s colleagues, and her attempts to find a job and new home.
In one particularly excruciating dinner-party scene, a family friend’s increasingly insistent questions to Juliette about her mysterious past prompts her to reveal the truth, which most of the unknowing guests take to be a hilarious riposte to the irritating questioner.
Although some of the parallel strands in the story rather too neatly evoke different kinds of imprisonment (Luc’s father, a stroke victim, is trapped in silence; Juliette and Léa’s mother is cut off from the world by senile dementia; and figures in painting and literature are referred to as different kinds of prisoners), the excellence of Scott-Thomas (this surely must be one of her greatest performances) and the confidence of Claudel’s direction make this film both moving and engaging.
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Nick Hammond
© 2008 Paris Update
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