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
|
Copacabana
-
Film
-
/ Drama
-
Created on Tuesday, 13 July 2010 23:00
-
Published on Tuesday, 13 July 2010 23:00
-
Written by Heidi Ellison
|
|
|
The fearless Babou (Isabelle Huppert) sets off to sell seaside time-shares in the middle of winter.
|
Copacabana, written and directed by Marc Fitoussi, is a fresh, completely absorbing little film about people – or rather, one person – you feel you ...
|
|
|
The fearless Babou (Isabelle Huppert) sets off to sell seaside time-shares in the middle of winter.
|
Copacabana, written and directed by Marc Fitoussi, is a fresh, completely absorbing little film about people – or rather, one person – you feel you might have known. Isabelle Huppert steps away from the tortured characters she often plays to portray Babou, a free-spirited, unemployed single mother (no father is ever mentioned) living in the North of France with her straitlaced daughter, Esméralda (played by Lolita Chammah, Huppert's real-life daughter), who one day announces that she is going to marry her accountant boyfriend, Justin (Joachim Lombard). Babou is dismayed, because she thinks Justin is far “too serious,” but she is even more dismayed when Esméralda tells her that she is not welcome at the wedding. Esméralda thinks Babou will embarrass her in front of Justin's family and has told them she is in Brazil (where Babou has always longed to go but has never visited) and won't be back in time for the wedding.
The character of the “kooky” Babou could have been very grating, but Fitoussi has managed to avoid heartwarming cliches, showing Babou's annoying, selfish, wrongheaded and, yes, embarrassing sides as well as her winning charms. And Huppert plays it perfectly in every scene, expressing the rejected mother's hurt feelings with powerful understatement, as when she calmly says to her daughter after the announcement about the marriage, “You no longer have the right to call me maman,” as she clears away their unfinished dinner.
Babou is not one to take such adversity lying down, however, so she decides to get a job to earn some money and respectability. Since she has no particular experience, the only job she can find in the distressed north is a nightmarish position as a tout for a new time-share apartment building in the Belgian seaside “resort” of Ostend. Selling a vacation apartment in the streets of Belgium in the freezing wintertime is no picnic, but Babou surprises everyone except herself by excelling at it – until her nonconformist ways irreparably alienate her from her employers.
The great thing about Babou is that she is unapologetically and fearlessly herself, and you'll certainly find yourself rooting for her. I have only one small complaint about this movie: the ending offers a too-neat wrap-up that is slightly off-kilter with the realism of the rest of the film. Otherwise Copacabana is a great little movie.
Heidi Ellison
Support Paris Update by ordering films starring Isabelle Huppert from Paris Update's Amazon store at no extra cost. Click on your preferred Amazon location: U.K., France, U.S.
Buy other films, music and books from the Paris Update store: U.K., France, U.S.
More film reviews.
Reader Reaction:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
to respond to this article (your response may be published on this page and is subject to editing).
© 2010 Paris Update
|
