French Film: French Kiss (1995)

Okay, so this film isn't actually French, but it is set in Paris, so I'm counting it as a "French" film. 

Title: French Kiss
Year: 1995
Starring: Meg Ryan, Kevin Kline, Jean Reno
Plot: Kate (Meg Ryan), an American, flies to Paris in order to bring back her fiancé, Charlie (Timothy Hutton), who has fallen in love with the beautiful Juliette (Suzan Anbeh). On the flight from Canada to France, she meets Luc (Kevin Kline), a crook who, without Kate knowing it, stows a stolen necklace inside a plant and sticks it in her bag in order to get it through customs. When she disappears, he has to track her down, only to find that her bag has been stolen by a rival thief. Kate and Luc work together to find the necklace and join forces to try and break up Charlie and Juliette (who has a history with Luc). Along the way they find themselves developing feelings for one another.

Why You Should Watch It: I could explain this simply...as in, with only one sentence. You should watch this movie because I actually liked it. Now, I'm not saying that I'm an expert on film; I most certainly am not. What I mean is that this movie falls under two categories of things that I hate: chick flicks and films with Meg Ryan in them. Despite that fact, I found this film to be funny, charming, and all-around enjoyable. Why?

1) Meg Ryan and Kevin Kline have insanely good chemistry. Their journey to falling in love is both believable and fun to watch. They begin the film by despising each other and only grow to like each other after spending time together and seeing who the other person really is. I love films that develop relationships over time, instead of having characters fall (unrealistically) in love twelve seconds after they've met. I especially love it when it's done well. In French Kiss, the plot is paced well and the characters grow within that plot, both separately and as an eventual couple.

2) This film contains well-developed characters. A lot of films seem to disregard the fact that the audience is actually supposed to like the characters and identify with them. Kate, Luc, Charlie, Inspector Cardon (Jean Reno), and the others are not only likeable, they have personalities, back-stories, hopes, and fears. They have flaws and they are changed by the challenges that face them because of these flaws.

3) Kevin Kline and Jean Reno are always fun to watch. While Reno's character isn't a huge part of the main plot, his secondary story (trying to find Luc and the necklace) was threaded nicely throughout the film. Kline is insanely funny as a Frenchman and is probably the best reason to watch the movie. I've always admired his work, especially the comedic films he's done (A Fish Called Wanda is my all-time favorite Kline film), and he doesn't disappoint in French Kiss.

4) The script is great, especially considering this is a romantic comedy. Luc's lines are scene-stealers, but even Meg Ryan has some fantastic moments. My favorite exchange between the two of them has to be when they're discussing the man who stole her bag while speeding down a Parisian street in a car that Luc has stolen:

Luc: His name is Bub.

Kate: Bub?

Luc: Bub. Like, uh, Bub Dylan.

Kate: Oh, Bob!

Luc: (mockingly, in an exaggerated fake American accent) Oui, Baaaaaahhhhhhhb.

It's a short, fun bit that really represents their whole relationship. You have the language and culture barrier, the snappy dialogue, the "I-don't-like-you-but-I'm-stuck-with-you" attitude. I won't go so far as to say that it's the funniest movie I've ever seen, but I give props to the writer, Adam Brooks, for the film's wit and authenticity.

I know there are some of you out there who really like rom-coms and/or Meg Ryan. For you, this movie is probably a no-brainer. For those of you who, like me, don't particularly like either of these things, I still highly recommend it. The script, the characters, the acting: all of it is well-done and makes for a great film.

-Gabe

French Music: "Juste Toi Et Moi" (Indochine)

Chanson (Song): "Juste Toi Et Moi"
Chanteur (Singer): Indochine



Paroles (Lyrics):

Juste toi et moi (X2)

Oh comme des cygnes
Comme toi et moi, comme des étoiles
Nous resterons si pâles
Oh comme les cygnes
Juste toi et moi, un peu trop sales
On n'a rien fait de mal

Et on s'enfuit et on voudrait
Rester en vie tout essayer
Aimer la pluie et les fleurs noires
Rester unis sans trop y croire

Nous sommes le signe
Que toi et moi, comme le métal
Nous resterons si mal
Nous sommes le signe
Juste toi et moi, notre arsenal

On n'a rien d'anormal
Et on séduit dans l'univers
D'oser les dragons et rester fiers
Plonger nos corps dans les eaux noires

Rêver nos vies sans trop y croire
Mais si demain que l'on s'éloigne
Que tu t'en ailles - trop loin -
Si je ne reviens pas alors jure le moi
Tu me tueras

Juste toi et moi oh oh
Comme des toiles oh oh
Qui se rejoignent oh oh
On se tuera oh oh

Oh comme des cygnes
Comme toi et moi, comme les étoiles
Nous resterons si pâles
Oh comme les cygnes
Juste toi et moi, un peu trop sales
On n'a rien fait de mal

Comme les étoiles
Comme les étoiles
Comme toi et moi
Juste toi et moi

-Gabe

Francophone Friday 2

All this month, I'm participating in Paris in July, which means that I'll be reviewing some French novels, introducing you to French music, and just generally talking about all things French. Of course, this is a book blog first and foremost, so I wanted to make sure that my blog didn't get overwhelmed by French culture at the detriment of everything else. So, I'm implementing Francophone Fridays. It's the one day a week where I can let loose and ramble on and on about France (or in French). This is the day that you'll see links to French music, reviews of French films, information on culture in France, photos of French monuments, etc. The rest of the week will be devoid of anything Francophone. I think this keeps everything nice and tidy and keeps me from becoming an absolute bore.


Here's what I've been doing so far for Paris in July:
-Books:
Le Petit Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris

-Music:
"Allo Paris" by Mano Solo
"Diane de Poitiers" by Thomas Fersen


-Film:
Le Dîner de Cons


Look for more posts later today.


-Gabe

"The Essential Is Invisible to the Eyes:" A Review of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's Le Petit Prince

Title: Le Petit Prince (The Little Prince)
Author: Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Edition: Hardcover
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company (1970)
Pages: 111
How I Came by This Book: I've seen the film The Little Prince (with Steve Warner, Richard Kiley, Gene Wilder, and Bob Fosse) and I went to several readings of it in French in college, but I had never actually read the book myself. Paris in July gave me the perfect excuse to read it and I managed to find, miracle of miracles, an edition at my library that had a glossary in the back. C'est parfait!
Challenges: GoodReads 2011 Reading Challenge

Synopsis: A pilot crashes his plane into the desert and, while attempting to fix the damage, he meets a young boy who claims to be from another planet. The boy tells the pilot about all of the people he met on the way from his corner of the universe to Earth, forming a bond between the two. A simple, sweet story, Le Petit Prince is as heartwarming, funny, and unforgettable as it is sad.

Review: I was terrified to read this novel. Not because I didn't think I would enjoy it. I knew I would, having been exposed to it on multiple occasions. No, my fear sprang from the fact that this was the first book I would ever read entirely in a foreign language, a language that I know well enough but about which I have little confidence. I'm happy to report that I had no trouble at all reading it, especially with the added help of the aforementioned glossary that accompanied it. Regardless of what language you read it in, however, Le Petit Prince is one you'll want to revisit again and again.

The story is relatively simple. There's an unnamed pilot in the desert who meets an unnamed boy from another planet. The boy tells the pilot about where he came from, why he left, and what has happened to him since. Reading it in French, the verb tenses can be a little confusing, as much of the story is told in the past, but as long as you keep that in mind, it shouldn't be too hard to figure out what's being said. Those reading it in English, will obviously not have the same problem. The bits that are told in the present tense are about the boy and the pilot and the friendship that develops between them in the short time they spend together in the desert, a friendship that is touching and sad at the same time.

Saint-Exupéry's novel is an absolute joy to read. The humor that is present throughout the book is established in the first few pages when our narrator, the pilot, recounts his childhood dream of being an artist and the crushing blow he received from les grands personnes, or "the grown-ups." He draws a picture of an elephant inside of a boa constrictor and asks them if they think it's scary. They say:

<<Pourquoi un chapeau ferait-il peur?>> "Why would a hat be scary?"

Dessin Numéro 1 (Drawing #1)

The narrator, disheartened, asserts:

<<Mon dessin ne représentait pas un chapeau. Il représentait un serpent boa qui digérait un éléphant.>> "My drawing didn't represent a hat. It represented a boa constrictor digesting an elephant."

After his second drawing (which depicts the inside of the snake as well as the outside) fails to impress the grown-ups, he makes a very important decision:

<<C'est ainsi que j'ai abandonné, à l'âge de six ans, une magnifique carrière de peintre.>> "It was thus that I abandoned, at the age of six, a magnificent career in painting."

Dessin numéro 2 (Drawing #2)

This cheeky humor continues throughout the novel and is what drives the narrative. Both the pilot and the little prince share a healthy disdain for grown-ups and a pouty, sarcastic wit that is as endearing as it is funny.

The prince's journey from Asteroid B-612 to Earth takes up most of the short book's narrative. After an argument with a flower he has grown to care for and vowed to protect, the little prince leaves to find a new friend and travels to seven different planets where he meets a small cast of absurd grown-ups, all of whom disappoint him. There's the king who rules over no one; the conceited man who believes that the little prince should laud him; the drunk man who drinks to forget the shame he feels about drinking; the business man who thinks he owns the stars; the lamp-lighter who spends all day lighting and snuffing out his lamp; and the geographer who has never seen the geography on his planet. When the prince finally comes to Earth, he has about given up hope of finding another soul in the universe that he can connect with.

There are many things that he learns along the way, among them that roses aren't unique, people can disappoint you, no one really knows what they're searching for, and snakes are not to be trusted. The reader, too, learns lessons, the most important of which is that sometimes a friend can be found in the strangest of places. The boy and the pilot are both alone in the world and both have something they'd like to get back to--the pilot wants to return to civilization, the boy to his rose. How they achieve their separate goals is both uplifting and heartbreaking.

For those of you who haven't read the novel or who don't know the story, I don't want to give too much away. I will say that the end, for me, wasn't quite as tear-jerking as it was when I saw the film because I spent quite a bit of time looking in the glossary for words I didn't know and the switching back and forth sort of broke up the flow of what is a truly beautiful and tragic scene. There were huge chunks of text that I understood perfectly well, but there were others where I needed a bit of extra help. Having the vocabulary at my fingertips was immensely helpful and I only wish that the other book I'm going to be reading in French this month, Bonjour Tristesse, had a similar glossary included in it as well.

There is so much to love about this novel and I highly recommend reading it. Although it is, primarily, a book for children, les grands personnes can enjoy it as well. From its humor to its satirical nature to the powerful message it sends about friendship, Le Petit Prince is a must-read. I encourage anyone who has taken French and wants to attempt to read it in its original language to do so, especially if you can track down the Hougton Mifflin Educational Edition that I was lucky enough to find. Anyone who hasn't can find just as much enjoyment out of it in a translation. There is also the film that I mentioned earlier, which is rather good, although Bob Fosse's creepy portrayal of the snake often inched too close to pedophilia for comfort (though you do discover Michael Jackson's inspiration for the moonwalk...not that that makes it any less creepy).

I adored everything about this book and am giving it 5 out of 5 Gabriels.

Favorite Quote:

Voici mon secret. Il est très simple : on ne voit bien qu'avec le coeur. L'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux. (pg. 64)

Here's my secret. It's very simple. It is only with the heart that one can see well. The essential is invisible to the eyes.

-Gabe

French Music: "Diane de Poitiers" (Thomas Fersen)

Chanson (Song): "Diane de Poitiers"
Chanteur (Singer): Thomas Fersen



Paroles (Lyrics):

Que fait donc en ce lieu,
Parmi ces messieurs,
Cette blonde aux bras nus,
Si nus qu'elle éternue,
Dans ses doigts, elle se mouche
Et pour s'rincer la bouche,
Elle commande un cognac,
Puis un autre cognac,

Je lui dis à l'oreille:
"T'es belle comme Diane de Poitiers,
Veux tu prendre la moitié
De mon lit si t'as sommeil ?"
Elle me répond, je cite:
"Il faut pas que tu t'excites,
Ce n'est pas c'que tu penses,
Je suis restée vieille France."

"C'est d'accord, je t'acceuille,
Moi je dors dans le fauteuil
En tout bien, tout honneur,
Comme un frère et une soeur,
Toi le lit, moi la banquette,
À la bonne franquette,
C'est d'accord pour ce soir,
Moi je dors dans la baignoire.

Certes, je ne suis pas un saint
Et quand la lumière s'eteint,
Je n'ai pas toujours dit non
Mais jm'en remet à Platon
Pour nous deux c'est plus sage,
Vu la difference d'âge,
Non ce soir pas d'folies
Chacun dans son lit.

Soit je ne suis pas un moine,
J'dissipe mon patrimoine
Dans ce bar un peu glauque,
Ma voix est dev'nue rauque
À la suite des abus
Mais ce soir j'ai rien bu,
Non, ce soir je suis strict,
Le devoir me le dicte.

J'ai rien d'un ecclésiastique,
Ma conscience est élastique
Et si j'fais mon examen,
J'suis pas dans l'droit chemin,
Non, je ne suis pas très pieux
Quand c'est l'heure d'aller au pieu,
Je fais rarement ma prière,
J'préfère une petite bière.

Certes je ne suis pas un prêtre,
Ce s'rait mal me connaître,
Et les soirs de pleine lune,
J'en ai détournée plus d'une,
Mais faut pas rester dehors
Avec tout ces délinquants,
Sois tranquille, moi je dors
Sur le lit de camp.

Soit, j'suis pas un chérubin,
Faudrait que j'prenne un bain,
Que je rase sur mes joues
Cette barbe acajou,
Et mon linge n'est pas net,
Enfin, pour être honnête,
Ce matin dans le bus,
J'ai attrapé une puce.

Les nuits d'hiver sont longues
Dans ma baignoire oblongue,
Elles sont longues et frisquettes,
Surtout sur la banquette,
Le divan du séjour,
Le canapé d'velours,
Le fauteuil Louis-Phillipe.
À ch'val sur les principes!

C'est d'accord, je t'accueille,
Moi je dors dans le fauteuil
En tout bien, tout honneur,
Comme un frère et une soeur,
Toi le lit, moi la banquette,
À la bonne franquette,
C'est d'accord pour ce soir,
Moi je dors dans la baignoire."

___________________

I don't have an English translation for you guys because there were a few sentences that I just could not figure out. I will, however, say that this is a funny song about a guy trying to talk a woman into staying overnight with him by promising her that, even though he's not a perfect guy, he means nothing sexual by his offer. Even without knowing what it means, though, it's still pretty kick-ass. 

-Gabe

French Film: Le Dîner de Cons (1998)

It's been several years since I've seen this film (which I watched for a French class in college), so this is less of a review of a film and more of a suggestion to watch said film.

Title: Le Dîner de Cons (The Dinner Game)
Year: 1998
Starring: Thierry Lhermitte, Jacques Villeret
Plot: Pierre and his group of friends host a dinner party every week to which each man invites a total stranger. This sounds like a nice gesture, but, in actuality, these dinners are a chance for them to humiliate people they think are ridiculous--men with strange hobbies or habits or people who are just plain stupid. Pierre plans on bringing François, a man he is sure will take the prize at the next "dîner de cons." But things don't go as planned when Pierre throws his back out and his wife leaves him and the only person around to help him is François. Soon Pierre is bombarded by crazy mistresses, possible tax audits, and a whole host of other problems as François' attempts to help only make things worse.

Why You Should Watch It: This is one of the funniest movies I've ever seen in any language. The humor effortlessly moves from sophisticated to raunchy to slapstick and back. Both Lhermitte (Pierre) and Villeret (François) are fantastic actors who move the film forward seamlessly from beginning to end. Other memorable characters include Marlene, Pierre's psychotic mistress, and François' tax inspector friend, Lucien.

What makes the film really great, however, is the chemistry between Pierre and François. There's tension there because a) Pierre is in a lot of pain (both physically and emotionally) and François keeps making it worse and b) sweet, stupid François doesn't understand what he's doing wrong and keeps trying to make it up to a man he thinks is his friend. Throughout the film, Pierre comes to see his mistakes in life because they are laid bare to him by someone he thinks is a complete moron. It gives the story a soul that other comedies are lacking.

Why You Should Watch It in French: Obviously it's up to you if you watch it in French with subtitles or just watch an English dub. There's one joke, however, that I think works much better in French than in English. François accidentally calls Pierre's mistress, Marlène, whom Pierre has been attempting to cut out of his life...but he knows none of this. When he gets off the phone he tells Pierre that he's been talking to his sister. Pierre, who doesn't have a sister, is confused. When he informs François of this fact, the man insists the woman said that she was his sister. Pierre suddenly realizes what happened. Marlène's last name is Hissister. At least, in the English version it is. In the French version her name is Sasseur, which sounds like "sa soeur," which is French for "his sister." To me, Hissister is a crap last name and the joke loses some of its appeal because it's so obvious. In the French version, it's more subtle and it's funnier that François makes that mistake. In the English dub, it just comes off as being a weak attempt at being funny.

What About That Other Version?: Okay, so apparently America has to ruin everything foreign and this film is no exception. In 2010, a film called Dinner for Schmucks came out, starring Paul Rudd and Steve Carell, which is supposed to be a reboot of sorts. I've heard that it's absolutely awful and if you've seen it, don't let it keep you from watching Le Dîner de Cons. Personally, I haven't watched the atrociousness that is Schmucks, but I'm assuring you that Cons is a film you won't regret seeing.

-Gabe