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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Le Petit Lieutenant
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Film
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/ Drama
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Created on Tuesday, 22 November 2005 23:00
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Published on Sunday, 22 February 2009 21:45
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Written by Heidi Ellison
Paris Police Blues
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| Nathalie Baye plays a "super-flic." |
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Cop stories – we’ve seen a million of them on TV and in the movies. What new take on the theme could possibly be left? Director Xavier Beauvois’s Le Petit Lieutenant manages to find one, making a low-key film that doesn’t try to copy the masters of the genre, the Americans, but instead takes a human, realistic approach to the subject.
Antoine, the young lieutenant of the title, appealingly played by Jalil Lespert, is a rube from Normandy fresh out of the academy. He requests a post in the big city, where he finds himself working in the crime division under Caroline Vaudieu (Nathalie Baye), who is touched by his puppy-dog enthusiasm and eagerness to please, which he tries to hide with a thin veneer of tough-guy cop.
Caroline, a recovering alcoholic described as a “super-cop” by her superior, has just returned to the job after a two-year leave and is still suffering from the pain of losing her son years before.
The case the film focuses on begins with the murder of a street person. The trail slowly leads to the bad guys, two Russian thugs who think nothing of killing anyone who gets in their way. The chase is on (there are no car chases in this very Parisian film, much of it filmed around the Canal Saint Martin, but a foot chase does take place in Nice).
While there are a couple of gratuitous and overlong scenes, the film has many more nice touches. The military precision of the police academy graduation ceremony shown at the beginning of the film, for example, contrasts
nicely with the messy reality of the job that follows.
The racism of the French police, a hot topic after the recent troubles in the suburbs, is acknowledged (though minimized): the only minority cop, who is of Moroccan origin, is introduced as looking “like one of our customers,” and another cop tells the sensitive petit lieutenant, who says he doesn’t like seeing animals in cages, that he’d “better get used to it. You’re paid to put blacks and Arabs in cages.”
One great thing about French films – and perhaps a reason why they don’t usually win much international success – is that the actors are not all gorgeous. Being ordinary-looking or getting on in age does not necessarily relegate an actor to oblivion (or character roles). Lespert and Baye (who is getting rave reviews for her understated performance) are just right in this film.
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Heidi Ellison
© 2005 Paris Update
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