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 Invités de Mon Père
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Film
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/ Drama
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Created on Thursday, 06 May 2010 23:00
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Published on Thursday, 06 May 2010 23:00
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Written by Nick Hammond
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Lucien (Michel Aumont) introduces Tatiana (Veronica Novak) and her daughter (Emma Siniavski) to his family.
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Director Anne Le Ny has the confidence and chutzpah to deal with a number of broad themes and moral ambiguities in her second movie, Les Invités de Mon Père (My Father’s Guest), ranging from ...
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Lucien (Michel Aumont) introduces Tatiana (Veronica Novak) and her daughter (Emma Siniavski) to his family.
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Director Anne Le Ny has the confidence and chutzpah to deal with a number of broad themes and moral ambiguities in her second movie, Les Invités de Mon Père (My Father’s Guest), ranging from problems of immigration and cultural difference in 21st-century France to sibling relationships and aging parents. And she manages to blend comedy with profundity in a delightful way.
When Lucien (Michel Aumont), a well-respected and highly principled humanitarian doctor in his 80s, takes an illegal immigrant, a young Moldovan woman, Tatiana (Veronica Novak), and her little girl into his home (an illegal act in France), his adult children, Babette (Karin Viard) and Arnaud (Fabrice Luchini) are hardly surprised, as they are well aware of his commitment to left-wing causes. However, when he announces that he has married her, it slowly becomes clear that Lucien’s reasons for looking after Tatiana are less lofty than they first thought.
Le Ny’s greatest coup is to let the audience discover the truth at the same time as Babette, who has modeled her life on her father’s example by becoming a doctor and working for disadvantaged people, and Arnaud, who has done the opposite by embracing the comfortable bourgeois world of business law. The film never makes it completely clear what really motivates Lucien (is it lust or love?) or Tatiana (is it cold-eyed opportunism or a genuine desire to put down roots?).
The other advantage of concentrating on the relationship between brother and sister is that we are treated to topnotch performances by Luchini (who has irritated me in previous movie roles) and Viard (who is always glorious). With just a glance, they manage to move from broad comedy to pathos. The script, written by Le Ny herself with Luc Béraud, is witty and fast-paced. (Arnaud’s comment that his elderly father’s antics have stolen from him the chance to get the most out of his mid-life crisis is typical of the movie’s style of humor.) Other nicely judged touches include Tatiana drinking champagne mixed with Fanta (her drink of choice) at a family gathering, Babette’s concern for the fate of her late mother’s favorite piece of furniture and Arnaud’s daughter replicating the activism of her grandfather.
I won’t give away the ending but will just say that it is refreshing to see that the resolution to the problems facing the family is rooted in uncomfortable reality rather than political correctness.
Nick Hammond
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