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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La Graine et le Mulet
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Film
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/ Drama
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Created on Tuesday, 08 January 2008 23:00
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Published on Sunday, 22 February 2009 21:45
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Written by Heidi Ellison
Too Much of a Good Thing
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Rym (Hafsia Herzi) and Slimane (Habib Boufares) tool around Sète on his scooter.
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Here is a film that just misses out on being great for lack of an editorial scalpel. La Graine et le Mulet, directed by Abdellatif Kechiche and winner of three prizes at the Venice Film Festival, has an engaging plot and characters, talented actors, a sensual look and a naturalistic cinematic style, but Kechiche lets almost every scene go on too long. That may be a great way to show off the actors’ talents, but what audience wants to listen to interminable conversations about a two-year-old’s toilet training or watch a betrayed wife sob hysterically for a good five minutes, no matter how convincing the actress is? One can’t help thinking of the films of John Cassavetes (also beloved by the French critics, who were crazy about La Graine), but even that master of improvisation had his longueurs. This film’s story could easily have been told in an hour less than two hours and 31-minutes.
I would still recommend La Graine, however, for its many other charms. Bursting with life and humanity, it offers a rare cinematic window into the lives of ordinary Arab-French people. Set in the Mediterranean port of Sète, it tells the story of the defeated-looking 61-year-old Slimane Beiji (Habib Boufares), who loses his job in the shipyards at the beginning of the film. We quickly learn that he is a kindhearted man and meet his large family – ex-wife, children and grandchildren – as he travels around town on his motor scooter, delivering gifts of fresh fish to them. The only person who seems truly happy to receive it is his “stepdaughter,” Rym (Hafsia Herzi), the daughter of his girlfriend, who owns the hotel he lives in.
Slimane, who wants to have something to leave behind to his children and grandchildren, comes into possession of a decrepit boat and decides to turn it into a restaurant specializing in fish couscous, to be made by his ex-wife. To raise the money and get the necessary permissions, he makes the rounds of the banks and the municipal authorities, aided by the attractive young Rym, who bubbles over with youthful bravado and charm.
While the story revolves around Slimane, Rym is the most interesting character, and the exceptionally talented Herzi is the real star of the film. Slimane, stooped and inarticulate, seems totally worn down by life, and it seems unlikely that he would be chosen as the lover of the attractive hotel owner, much less have the ambition, drive and energy to turn a rusty old scow into a restaurant.
Kechiche, the surprise winner of the 2005 César (the French equivalent of the Oscar) for best film, director and screenplay for his sweet little movie L’Esquive, the story of a group of teenagers putting on a play in the Paris suburbs, is a director to watch. He has a penchant for tight close-ups, which become rather claustrophobic with overuse in La Graine, as he gets right up into the actors’ faces and lingers there, and an eye for sensual detail, especially the flash of a woman’s breast or thigh. In La Graine, he plunges us into the life of the family, but we fear we may drown from staying there too long. His methods do, however, leave us feeling that we know and care about these people.
For an example of how a family story can be told more effectively and economically, with few words, go see the excellent American indie film Shotgun Stories (just released in France), written and directed by Jeff Nichols, whose main character is almost as laconic and withdrawn as Slimane.
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Heidi Ellison
© 2008 Paris Update
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