Like it or not, my friends and family who come to visit in Paris are not all 100% fluent in French. When, exhausted from sightseeing, we want to spend an evening chilling out in front of the tube, watching French TV can be a linguistic strain. For a great antidote to this, while still giving some French/Paris flavor to the visit, I pop over to PrimeTime Video, in the 6e arrondissement, and pick up an English-language movie set in France. I usually choose randomly from my mental fact-file; the IMDB list was long, and hard work to sift through.Now, fortunately, the wonderful France Today magazine editors have come up with a list of the top five Hollywood versions of France, plus other recommendations.
So even if you can't make it to Paris - yet - here are some fun films, past and present, that will kindle the urge.
And look for France Today's next issue, all about Paris.
9 comments:
Thank you! For the list {top 5 Hollywood version and others}. Some I know and love. Some will be new to me. :-)
Mari-Nanci
Smilnsigh
Photos-City-Mine
Noir et blanc
Add The Olsen Twins In Paris. Really. It's when they were cute. If you insist, turn down the sound and have lots of wine.
BTW: any visitor that spends an evening WATCHING TV in Paris - needs to be immediately sent home.
Fer cryin' out loud.
Mari-Nanci,
It was great to find that list in France Today.
Sixty,
I've already seen "the Hills" so I think I'll skip the Olsens. Visitors sleeping on friends' sofa beds are usually on a tight budget and in tight shoes (oh the swelling from all that walking!) So after a cheap dinner out, yes, even in Paris we do stay home *some* evenings! Cultural heresy, perhaps, but essential for recharging the batteries for the next day. And the wine is cheaper chez moi!
I looooooove "To Catch a Thief"... one of my favorite movies ever.
I like the feeling of Paris in the Blue part of the Tri Coleurs trilogy. It's subtle.
I've actually seen all of those movies...Funny Face has been one of my favorites for years. I guess I've always been a bit of a Francophile :)
How can they categorise "Before Sunset" as "romantic comedy"??? It's not funny - it's a profound take on what happens when you don't get together with your one true love - brilliantly observed and heartbreakingly sad. Amazing film. Breathtaking performances by Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke. One of my all time favourite films.
There are a bunch that I haven't seen, actually, so I'll have to check them out some time. I'm still catching up on all the French DVDs -- and my neighborhood French video rental store just moved; now it's a 25-minute walk. Bummer!
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