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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Persepolis
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Film
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/ Drama
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Created on Tuesday, 03 July 2007 23:00
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Published on Sunday, 22 February 2009 21:45
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Written by Heidi Ellison
Personal History Lesson
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| Marjane visits her uncle, a political prisoner. |
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Persepolis, the animated film version of Marjane Satrapi’s two-volume autobiographical comic book of the same name, brings the recent history of Iran to life by showing its effects on one individual – the smart, sparky Marjane – and her family.
Switching from color to black and white according to the mood of the scenes, the film takes us from Marjane’s privileged, happy-go-lucky childhood – shadowed by stories of relatives imprisoned, tortured and killed by the shah of Iran – to the ecstatic period after his overthrow, which Marjane’s left-wing relatives take as an assurance of a beautiful, just future for their country. Another grim reality soon imposes itself, however, with the new repression exercised by the Islamic regime and the start of the Iran-Iraq War.
Marjane is a little girl who just wants to have fun, but she also has the misguided high ideals and confused perceptions of a child. The film stays with her as she struggles with the insane contradictions her new life. We watch as she wanders past shady-looking men selling illicit goods until she finds what she wants: an Iron Maiden album. She is wearing a denim jacket on the back of which she has written in English “Punk is ded,” a look that doesn’t go down well with the morals police she is often in trouble with.
As she grows up and eventually goes into exile, first to Vienna as a teenager, and then to France, the weight of historical events and the personal tragedies ensuing from them break her spirit more than once, but Persepolis is proof that Marjane survived.
Co-written and co-directed by Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud, the film, which won the Jury Prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, is by turns funny (Satrapi’s sense of humor is a saving grace, in both the film and her life), sickening, scary and heart-wrenching. For many Western viewers, I suspect it will offer a much-needed history lesson on Iran, a country many fear but know little about. The animation puts a slight distance between the spectator and the story, but perhaps that is necessary device in this extremely personal coming-of-age story.
For the French version, the first to be released, the voices of the main characters were provided by Chiara Mastroianni (Marjane), Catherine Deneuve (her mother), Simon Abkarian (her father) and Daniel Darrieux (her grandmother). The U.S. release date has not yet been set.
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Heidi Ellison
© 2007 Paris Update
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