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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Donne-moi la Main
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Film
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/ Drama
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Created on Tuesday, 03 March 2009 23:00
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Published on Thursday, 05 March 2009 23:31
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Written by James Gascoigne
Donne-moi la Main, the first feature-length movie by Pascal-Alex Vincent, stars a pair of identical twin brothers, Alexandre and Victor Carril, who live in Paris’s ...
Donne-moi la Main, the first feature-length movie by Pascal-Alex Vincent, stars a pair of identical twin brothers, Alexandre and Victor Carril, who live in Paris’s Marais. On the evening I saw it, at the MK2 Beaubourg cinema, just on the edge of the Marais, a large group of the actors’ friends and the twins themselves came along, so there was a celebratory atmosphere, culminating in a large round of applause as the pair disarmingly rushed out of the cinema at the end of the film.
The story, such as it is, revolves around a journey made through the South of France and Spain by two brothers, Antoine and Quentin, as they attempt to attend the funeral of a mother they never knew. The director and screenwriter show no interest at all in the background story of the young men, adding an enigmatic air to the proceedings and focusing attention on the dysfunctional relationship between the twins, leaving the movie without any real narrative depth.
The director’s debt to Japanese manga is acknowledged at the very beginning of the film with an opening animated sequence, and it is perhaps in that light that we should view the lack of sustained characterization. The various people the brothers meet on their journey serve as ciphers for the complex bond they share, and we are not supposed to reflect too deeply about them.
Each twin has a short-lived sexual encounter, one with a woman, one with a man, provoking a jealous response from the other twin, but it is in keeping with the tone of the film that these sexual partners are discarded from the narrative almost as soon as they appear.
The beautiful rural settings of much of the film and the way the camera lingers lovingly, even longingly, on the faces and bodies of the two actors give the action a memorably poetic beauty.
Alexandre and Victor Carril have enough presence to keep our attention, but the staginess of the acting of some of the secondary performers and the absence of narrative interest make Donne-moi la Main only partially successful.
James Gascoigne
© 2008 Paris Update
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