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 Californie
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Film
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/ Drama
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Created on Tuesday, 31 October 2006 23:00
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Published on Sunday, 22 February 2009 21:45
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Written by Tom Ridgway
Deadly Serious
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| The splendid Nathalie Baya is great at playing a drunk. |
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Last week I went to see two vastly different, yet similar, films. Both were well-written, well-directed, well-acted – and both were deadly dull. The first was Clint Eastwood’s Flags of Our Fathers, in which Eastwood’s occasional tendency to plodding seriousness killed his film; the second was Jacques Fieschi’s La Californie.
Over the years, Fieschi has written films for some great French directors, including Maurice Pialat, Claude Sautet, Olivier Assayas and Nicole Garcia; he, too, is a “Serious Filmmaker.” Proof, if it were needed, comes with his first film as writer-director: La Californie is a film that’s easy to admire and almost impossible to love.
The film tells the story of Maguy (a splendid Nathalie Baye), a rich widow living in the hills above Cannes with a group of hangers-on, among them Mirko (Roschdy Zem) and Stefan (Rasha Bukvic), two Serbs who escaped the war and stayed on in Cannes, that Mecca of sleaze and designer-label tat.
The gang in the house spends Maguy’s money on champagne, parties and clothes; she lets them because she has a desperate terror of being alone. This delightful microcosm is upset when Maguy’s daughter, Hélène (Ludivine Sagnier) turns up. As you might expect, the center does not hold.
Based on a story by Georges Simenon, La Californie has two basic problems. First, there is no character, apart from Stefan, with whom you can empathize, let alone like. This might not matter in a film with more action, but in a character piece it proves difficult for the audience. Maguy, for example, is a woman afraid of life – men, her family, her friends, herself – so she gets drunk (Baye does a very good drunk) and screams (that, too). After 90 minutes, this begins to be ever so slightly boring. While you can understand each character’s motives, you can’t really care about them and switch off.
Secondly, the film appears convinced that it has more to say than it does. The lives of these vauriens are perfectly well-sketched out and put on the screen; Cannes’ sleazy, unpleasant atmosphere is there for all to see; and the world-to-itself atmosphere of the house is nicely evoked, but it just doesn’t add up to much.
La Californie (the title refers to a neighborhood in Cannes) is a well-made film with good performances, but its sheer seriousness gives the impression that the filmmakers believe that they’re saying something profound about life, about Europe, about our society. They’re not. Rich people attract hangers-on who like money, says the film, and they are not very nice people. Earth-shattering.
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Tom Ridgway
© 2007 Paris Update
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