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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Vers le Sud
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Film
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/ Drama
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Created on Tuesday, 31 January 2006 23:00
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Published on Sunday, 22 February 2009 21:45
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Written by Heidi Ellison
Love for Sale
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| Ellen with her summertime lover, Legba, in Vers le Sud. |
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Like many French directors, Laurent Cantet has always taken an interest in thorny social issues. His last two movies, L’Emploi du Temps (Time Out) and Ressources Humaines (Human Resources) dealt with the effects of corporate layoffs on the lives of ordinary people.
In his new film, Vers le Sud (Heading South), Cantet has tackled a very different issue: middle-aged white women from the north (in this case, the United States and Canada) traveling south to Haiti at the end of the 1970s in desperate search of love, affection and (not least) sex, which they are unable to get from the men at home. While enjoying a vacation in a parasitical beach resort, they also enjoy the tenderness and sexual attentions of young local men, paying for their favors with petty cash and small gifts.
The film focuses on a trio of women: Ellen (Charlotte Rampling), Brenda (Karen Young) and Sue (Louise Portal). Ellen, the eldest at 55, is an older version of Samantha in Sex in the City. She loudly and cynically proclaims how much she enjoys sex and scorns emotional attachments. The arrival of Brenda disrupts her carefully constructed holiday setup, however. Brenda, who had an affair with Ellen’s handsome young summertime lover Legba (the excellent Ménothy Cesar) three years before, has been obsessed with him ever since.
At first dismayed to find that Legba now “belongs” to Ellen, Brenda doesn’t lose much time before moving in and recapturing him from her rival. Sue, happy with her muscle-bound fisherman lover, acts as a friend and mediator to both.
Beyond the main story of sex, love and jealousy, the film also offers glimpses of the horrors of everyday life in Haiti. We see the viciousness of the Tonton Macoute thugs and the fear that keeps people from reacting to it, and we learn that Legba’s ex-girlfriend has been forced to become the mistress of a powerful colonel.
All these elements brew up into an inevitable tropical storm with serious consequences.
While the film struggles valiantly to get at psychological truths, it only partially succeeds. Certain elements ring true, such as the revelation of the falsity of Ellen’s cynicism, but the parallel turnabout in Brenda’s character is just a bit too pat. And, while we certainly get inside the heads of the three women – they even tell their stories in documentary-like monologues – we never learn what motivates the young men who sell themselves to these women and seem to care about them. The money and gifts are obviously one reason for this game of “soft” prostitution, but is there more to it than that?
Cantet deserves credit for dealing with this difficult subject without oversensationalizing it and for making a film that’s enjoyable to watch, with almost no yawn factors.
Rampling, by the way, has come out of the coma she often seems to be in on the screen, and is fairly plausible as Ellen.
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Heidi Ellison
© 2006 Paris Update
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