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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Ne Touchez pas la Hache
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Film
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/ Drama
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Created on Tuesday, 03 April 2007 23:00
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Published on Sunday, 22 February 2009 21:45
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Written by Heidi Ellison
Distant Love
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The duchess (Jeanne Balibar) pushes away the importunate general.
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Jacques Rivette’s Ne Touchez pas la Hache (Don’t Touch the Axe), an adaptation of Balzac’s novel La Duchesse de Langeais, is an object lesson in how to take a story about passionate love, suck the blood out of it and turn it into a dry, boring, overlong (two hours and 17 minutes) film.
Briefly, this is the story of one of Napoleon’s generals, Armand de Montriveau (Guillaume Depardieu), who falls heavily (this is the right word: the general is a morose man of few words) in love with the beautiful Duchess of Langeais (Jeanne Balibar). The duchess is amused by his passion and plays the general like a marlin, alternately reeling him in by allowing him to visit her alone every evening, and then telling him to make himself scarce. When he becomes too insistent, she reminds him either that she is a married woman or that she has strong religious convictions. When he rebels, she grants him a few indulgences to keep him coming back.
Needless to say, when he finally pulls away for good, she decides she is madly in love with him, (although nothing in the film makes this sudden conversion convincing). When she can’t get him back, she checks into a Carmelite convent in Spain.
The richness of this (very) slow-paced film is visual, not emotional. Each beautifully lit scene is worthy of a period master painting, and the sets and the ladies’ Empire gowns are gorgeous. That may be one of the problems: We feel that we are looking at a picture, not entering into a story we can empathize with.
The arch device of using written text as bridges between scenes – perhaps in homage to Balzac, lest we forget that this was originally his novel – only serves to further distance us from the story. Even a potentially dramatic scene in which the frustrated general kidnaps his beloved and threatens her with severe bodily harm is strangely bloodless and unaffecting.
Rivette, now 78 and one of the original New Wave directors, has crashed to shore with this film. For those who want to see what he was up to in his glory days, the Centre Pompidou is currently holding a retrospective of his films.
Heidi Ellison
Centre Pompidou: Place Georges Pompidou, 75004 Paris. Tel.: 01 44 78 12 33. Closed Tuesday. Métro: Rambuteau. Admission: €10. www.centrepompidou.fr/
© 2007 Paris Update
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Heidi Ellison
© 2007 Paris Update
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