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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Les Particules Elémentaires
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Film
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/ Drama
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Created on Tuesday, 12 September 2006 23:00
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Published on Sunday, 22 February 2009 21:45
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Written by Heidi Ellison
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| Bruno (Moritz Bleibtreu) rants at his dying mother while his half-brother Michel (Christian Ulmen) looks on. |
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Les Particules Elémentaires, the controversial novel by French provocateur extraordinaire Michel Houellebecq, has been transformed into a German film, Elementareilchen, directed by Oskar Roehler.
Viewers who have never read the book may find the film bleak, if not severely depressing, but to those who have read the novel, the movie seems positively upbeat in comparison.
The tale concerns two severely damaged half-brothers, Bruno (played by the talented Moritz Bleibtreu, who won the best actor award for this role at the 2006 Berlin Film Festival) and Michael (Michel in the novel, played by Christian Ulmen). Both were abandoned by their free-loving hippie mother and raised by different grandmothers, but their reactions to their upbringing have taken them in diametrically opposed directions. The nihilistic Bruno, a frustrated writer, seeks salvation through sex, while Michael, a research scientist, completely represses his sexuality and even his humanity, seeking solace in his research on sexless reproduction.
On these points the novel and film agree, but they diverge completely when it comes to the development of the story. The extreme vitriol of Houellebecq’s formulaic novel has been toned down, leaving room for hope and even the possibility of love and salvation. The film’s ending, in fact, completely negates the nihilistic premise of the book and could even be interpreted moralistically (sex fiends will be punished; the pure will triumph).
This is one of the rare cases when I would recommend seeing the film, which is much more coherent than the novel, rather than reading the book it is based on. It views the sad lives of Bruno and Michel more through a psychological than a philosophical lens, adding a third dimension to the novel’s flat characters.
The film’s transposition of the action from France to Germany, by the way, seems perfectly plausible.
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Heidi Ellison
© 2006 Paris Update
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