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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Comme des Voleurs (à l'Est)
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Film
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/ Drama
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Created on Tuesday, 18 December 2007 23:00
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Published on Sunday, 22 February 2009 21:45
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Written by Nick Hammond
Polish Autofiction
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| Lionel (Lionel Baier) and his boyfriend Serge (Stéphane Rentznik), whom he leaves to find his Polish roots. |
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Comme des Voleurs (à l’Est) is young Swiss director Lionel Baier’s second film. His first, Garçon Stupide (2004), although uneven, showed enough promise to augur well for future films, and was remarkable for an extraordinary performance by Pierre Chatagny. Baier himself played a character named Lionel in Garçon Stupide, appearing off-screen until the final frames of the film.
In Comme des Voleurs, he again plays the part of Lionel, with his actual surname thrown in for good measure, but here he is the central character. In case the audience has not already guessed, we are helpfully reminded during the film that Lionel writes “autofiction.” Baier is joined by the principal actress from Garçon Stupide, Natacha Koutchoumov, here playing his sister Lucie.
When Lionel learns by chance that he has a Polish great-grandfather, a chain of events is set off that leads to brother and sister abandoning their respective male partners (and a Polish woman with no identity papers Lionel is planning to marry so she can stay in the country) and making their way to Eastern Europe in a Radio Suisse car belonging to Lionel’s employer. Clearly drawing on the road movie tradition, the film includes a fight and a car chase before the pair’s car and possessions are stolen. In a bizarre mirroring of the Polish woman’s circumstances in Switzerland, Lionel and Lucie find themselves without papers in Poland.
Baier is at his best when observing social situations: the reaction 0f the family when the gay Lionel announces his impending marriage to the Polish woman, for example, or the men at the garage they go t0 to get their car repaired, and the anti-globalist female hitchhiker who steals their car while the siblings are eating in a Polish McDonald’s. The acting is on the whole engaging and convincing.
But Baier is less effective in mastering the overall structure of the film: narrative coherence and cohesion are often lacking, not helped by the heavy-handed use of Ravel as a musical backdrop (surely Chopin would have been more appropriate for a film set in Poland?), and too many plot strands are left unresolved.
By the end of this overly long film, one gets the sense that Baier still hasn’t realized his full potential as a filmmaker, even though the talent is definitely there.
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Nick Hammond
© 2008 Paris Update
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