Dreaming of France - 11.3.14

Dreaming of France
meme created by An Accidental Blog
join this week's round and add your link here
Grab a copy of the photo above and link back to my blog. Share with the rest of us your passion for France. Did you read a good book set in France? See a movie? Take a photo in France? Have an adventure? Eat a fabulous meal or even just a pastry? Or if you're in France now, go ahead and lord it over the rest of us. We can take it. Maybe we can all satisfy our yearnings for France, until we get there again.

~*~
Today I am sharing a double review.

I watched the movie first and read the graphic novel second and found it does not matter which order you decide to do as both versions are different and special in their own way in telling the love story between two women. I loved each version equally.

~*~

Blue Is The Warmest Color (2013)
Directed by: Abdellatif Kechiche
Written by: Abdellatif Kechiche (scenario, adaptation and dialogue) and
Ghalia Lacroix (scenario, adaptation and dialogue)
Based on graphic novel by: Julie Maroh

Starring:
Léa Seydoux as Emma
Adèle Exarchopoulos as Adèle

My rating: 5

Per imdb:
Adele's life is changed when she meets Emma, a young woman with blue hair, who will allow her to discover desire, to assert herself as a woman and as an adult. In front of others, Adele grows, seeks herself, loses herself and ultimately finds herself through love and loss.

Neat-o trivia bit from imdb:
In preparation for her role as Emma, Léa Seydoux attended painting and sculpture lessons. She also undertook extensive reading on arts and philosophy, and visited museums before filming began. To assist her in portraying the masculine characteristics of the arts student role, the director requested Seydoux to go for training sessions to tone up her physique and also study the films of Marlon Brando and James Dean to learn their traits.


CHECK out the graphic novel version:

Blue is the Warmest Color
by Julie Maroh

Find out more about this book and author:
Amazon
Goodreads
Website

Published: 2013
Publisher: Arsenal Pulp Press
Genre: France, Graphic Novel, LGBTQ
Paperback: 160 pages
Rating: 5

In this tender, bittersweet, full-color graphic novel, a young woman named Clementine discovers herself and the elusive magic of love when she meets a confident blue-haired girl named Emma: a lesbian love story for the ages that bristles with the energy of youth and rebellion and the eternal light of desire.

First published in France by Glénat, the book has won several awards, including the Audience Prize at the Angoulême International Comics Festival, Europe's largest.

My two-bits: for both film and graphic novel

I fell in love with Léa just like Adele. Léa came across so cool and hip as in keeping with this story which is primarily character driven.

The visuals and quiet non-verbal moments of the film and the illustrations from the graphic novel were very effective in presenting the beautiful and ugly parts of a love story.

Both versions share the main thrust of the story. And although they end the same, they do in different ways. Not my ideal endings, but works for the stories.

~*~
* beware: very steamy scenes in both the film and graphic novel

Dreaming of France - 9.29.14

Dreaming of France
meme created by An Accidental Blog
join this week's round and add your link here
Grab a copy of the photo above and link back to my blog. Share with the rest of us your passion for France. Did you read a good book set in France? See a movie? Take a photo in France? Have an adventure? Eat a fabulous meal or even just a pastry? Or if you're in France now, go ahead and lord it over the rest of us. We can take it. Maybe we can all satisfy our yearnings for France, until we get there again.

~*~
Today I would like to share a book that I have on my wish list...

100 Places in France Every Woman Should Go
by Marcia DeSanctis
release date: November 4, 2014
Amazon | Goodreads
Told in a series of stylish, original essays, 100 Places in France Every Woman Should Go is for the serious Francophile, for the woman dreaming of a trip to Paris, and for those who love crisp stories well-told. Like all great travel writing, this volume goes beyond the guidebook and offers insight not only about where to go but why to go there. Combining advice, memoir and meditations on the glories of traveling through France, this book is the must-have in your carry-on when flying to Paris.

Award-winning writer Marcia DeSanctis draws on years of travels and living in France to lead you through vineyards, architectural treasures, fabled gardens and contemplative hikes from Biarritz to Deauville, Antibes to the French Alps. These 100 entries capture art, history, food, fresh air and style and along the way, she tells the stories of fascinating women who changed the country’s destiny. Ride a white horse in the Camargue, find Paris’s hidden museums, try thalassotherapy in St. Malo, and buy raspberries at Nice’s Cour Saleya market. From sexy to literary, spiritual to simply gorgeous, 100 Places in France Every Woman Should Go is an indispensable companion for the smart and curious traveler to France.

~*~
* looks like a fun one and one for ideas for the travel bucket list

Dreaming of France - 9.22.14

Dreaming of France
meme created by An Accidental Blog
join this week's round and add your link here
Grab a copy of the photo above and link back to my blog. Share with the rest of us your passion for France. Did you read a good book set in France? See a movie? Take a photo in France? Have an adventure? Eat a fabulous meal or even just a pastry? Or if you're in France now, go ahead and lord it over the rest of us. We can take it. Maybe we can all satisfy our yearnings for France, until we get there again.

~*~
Here's a book that looks like a good one for the upcoming Halloween season that I picked up from the library...

Babayaga
by Toby Barlow
-fantasy, historical, France
Amazon | Goodreads
The year is 1959, and strange events are brewing in Paris, a city where nothing (and no one) is as it seems.

We meet Will, who hails from Detroit and works at an international advertising agency, which is also a front for the CIA. Then there’s the enchanting Zoya, who could cast a spell with her looks—and, as a witch, she often does (she also recently impaled her ex on a spike).

Inspector Vidot, on the other hand, is a hardworking police detective who cherishes a quiet evening at home. Until he follows a lead on a particularly gruesome murder—and finds himself turned into a flea. And the adventure wouldn’t be complete without Oliver, a fun-loving American patrician who has come to Paris to launch a literary journal with the support of certain secretive friends.

Add a few chance encounters, a chorus of angry witches, and a weaponized LSD program, and you have Toby Barlow’s Babayaga: a wickedly sharp tale of the City of Light that’s part love story, part thriller, and pure brilliance.

~*~
* fyi: French word for witch is sorcière

Here's a cute etsy paper doll created by Altered Artifacts of Marie Antoinette dressed as a witch

Dreaming of France - 9.15.14

Dreaming of France
meme created by An Accidental Blog
join this week's round and add your link here
Grab a copy of the photo above and link back to my blog. Share with the rest of us your passion for France. Did you read a good book set in France? See a movie? Take a photo in France? Have an adventure? Eat a fabulous meal or even just a pastry? Or if you're in France now, go ahead and lord it over the rest of us. We can take it. Maybe we can all satisfy our yearnings for France, until we get there again.

~*~

The Hundred-Foot Journey (2014)
Directed by: Lasse Hallström
Written by: Steven Knight
Based on book by: Richard C. Morais

Starring:
Helen Mirren as Madame Mallory
Om Puri as Papa
Manish Dayal as Hassan
Charlotte Le Bon as Marguerite

My rating: 4

Per imdb:
The Kadam family leaves India for France where they open a restaurant directly across the road from Madame Mallory's Michelin-starred eatery.

Neat-o trivia bits from imdb:
The upscale restaurant in Paris is actually Georges at the top of the Pompidou Centre although renamed in the movie apparently as a fictional restaurant.

My two-bits:

Cute drama/romance flick with beautiful scenes in France (a couple in Paris) and camera footage of mouthwatering Indian and French cuisine presentations.

Most definitely a feel-good film overall.

Take a peek:



CHECK out the book version:

The Hundred-Foot Journey
by Richard C. Morais
Amazon | Goodreads
"That skinny Indian teenager has that mysterious something that comes along once a generation. He is one of those rare chefs who is simply born. He is an artist."

And so begins the rise of Hassan Haji, the unlikely gourmand who recounts his life’s journey in Richard Morais’s charming novel, The Hundred-Foot Journey. Lively and brimming with the colors, flavors, and scents of the kitchen, The Hundred-Foot Journey is a succulent treat about family, nationality, and the mysteries of good taste.

Born above his grandfather’s modest restaurant in Mumbai, Hassan first experienced life through intoxicating whiffs of spicy fish curry, trips to the local markets, and gourmet outings with his mother. But when tragedy pushes the family out of India, they console themselves by eating their way around the world, eventually settling in Lumière, a small village in the French Alps.

The boisterous Haji family takes Lumière by storm. They open an inexpensive Indian restaurant opposite an esteemed French relais—that of the famous chef Madame Mallory—and infuse the sleepy town with the spices of India, transforming the lives of its eccentric villagers and infuriating their celebrated neighbor. Only after Madame Mallory wages culinary war with the immigrant family, does she finally agree to mentor young Hassan, leading him to Paris, the launch of his own restaurant, and a slew of new adventures.

The Hundred-Foot Journey is about how the hundred-foot distance between a new Indian kitchen and a traditional French one can represent the gulf between different cultures and desires. A testament to the inevitability of destiny, this is a fable for the ages—charming, endearing, and compulsively readable.

Dreaming of France - 8

Dreaming of France
meme created by An Accidental Blog
join this week's round and add your link here
Grab a copy of the photo above and link back to my blog. Share with the rest of us your passion for France. Did you read a good book set in France? See a movie? Take a photo in France? Have an adventure? Eat a fabulous meal or even just a pastry? Or if you're in France now, go ahead and lord it over the rest of us. We can take it. Maybe we can all satisfy our yearnings for France, until we get there again.

~*~

How to Be Parisian Wherever You Are:
Love, Style, and Bad Habits
by Anne Berest, Audrey Diwan, Caroline De Maigret, Sophie Mas

Find out more about this book:
Amazon
Goodreads
BookExcerpt
Website
Facebook
Twitter

Just released: September 2, 2014
Publisher: Doubleday
Genre: France, how-to
Hardback: 272 pages
Rating: 4

From four stunning and accomplished French women -- at last -- a fresh and spirited take on what it really means to be a Parisienne: how they dress, entertain, have fun and attempt to behave themselves.

In short, frisky sections, these Parisian women give you their very original views on style, beauty, culture, attitude and men. The authors--Anne Berest, Audrey Diwan, Caroline de Maigret, and Sophie Mas -- unmarried but attached, with children -- have been friends for years. Talented bohemian iconoclasts with careers in the worlds of music, film, fashion and publishing, they are untypically frank and outspoken as they debunk the myths about what it means to be a French woman today. Letting you in on their secrets and flaws, they also make fun of their complicated, often contradictory feelings and behavior. They admit to being snobs, a bit self-centered, unpredictable but not unreliable. Bossy and opinionated, they are also tender and romantic.

You will be taken on a first date, to a party, to some favorite haunts in Paris, to the countryside, and to one of their dinners at home with recipes even you could do -- but to be out with them is to be in for some mischief and surprises. They will tell you how to be mysterious and sensual, look natural, make your boyfriend jealous, and how they feel about children, weddings and going to the gym. And they will share their address book in Paris for where to go: At the End of the Night, for A Birthday, for a Smart Date, A Hangover, for Vintage Finds and much more.

How to Be Parisian Wherever You Are will make you laugh as you slip into their shoes to become bold and free and tap into your inner cool.

PeekAbook:

How to Be Parisian Wherever You Are from Doubledaypub

My two-bits:

Oh la la, chic cute!

I like how this book presents four different perspectives with illustrations and pictures and french ditties.

This is one of those books you don't have to necessarily read front to back. It is fun to just open the book to any page and just start reading in bits and pieces. Or just enjoy flipping through to look at the pictures.

~*~
* review copy courtesy of edelweiss

Dreaming of France - 7

Dreaming of France
meme created by An Accidental Blog
join this week's round and add your link here
Grab a copy of the photo above and link back to my blog. Share with the rest of us your passion for France. Did you read a good book set in France? See a movie? Take a photo in France? Have an adventure? Eat a fabulous meal or even just a pastry? Or if you're in France now, go ahead and lord it over the rest of us. We can take it. Maybe we can all satisfy our yearnings for France, until we get there again.

~*~
Today I will feature an article about Aix en Provence I came across on NPR last week which also includes a book recommendation:

Mystery Writer Weaves Intricate Puzzles In Sleepy French Town
by Eleanor Beardsley

Excerpt:

The southern French town of Aix-en-Provence is known more for good living than for murder. But the town's languid beauty is also what makes it a perfect setting for Mary Lou Longworth's Provencal mysteries with Inspector Verlaque. -read complete article here

Death at the Chateau Bremont:
A Verlaque and Bonnet Mystery
by M. L. Longworth
Amazon | Goodreads
Set in charming and historic Aix-en-Provence, France, Death at the Château Bremont introduces readers to Antoine Verlaque, the handsome and seductive chief magistrate of Aix, and his on-again, off- again love interest, law professor Marine Bonnet.

When local nobleman Etienne de Bremont falls to his death from the family château, the town is abuzz with rumors. Verlaque suspects foul play and must turn to Marine for help when he discovers that she had been a close friend of the Bremonts. This is a lively whodunit steeped in the rich, enticing, and romantic atmosphere of southern France.

-----> I had the pleasure of visiting Aix on Provence a couple months ago for one night during the Summer solstice celebration. Lots of people, lots of music and happy vibes all-around.

In general, I found the place to be a small charming town in Southern France that definitely is a place to visit again (at daylight).

Dreaming of France - 6

Dreaming of France
meme created by An Accidental Blog
join this week's round and add your link here
Grab a copy of the photo above and link back to my blog. Share with the rest of us your passion for France. Did you read a good book set in France? See a movie? Take a photo in France? Have an adventure? Eat a fabulous meal or even just a pastry? Or if you're in France now, go ahead and lord it over the rest of us. We can take it. Maybe we can all satisfy our yearnings for France, until we get there again.

~*~
Today I will feature a Christmas window display in Paris - Dior Noël au Printemps.

Take a look at these lovelies - 74 dolls dressed in specially created iconic Dior outfits by the ateliers of the House.



Such a sweet treat to see these fashionable marionettes in action.

LOOK, behind the scenes...



~*~
* image source doll

Dreaming of France - 5

Dreaming of France
meme created by An Accidental Blog
join this week's round and add your link here
Grab a copy of the photo above and link back to my blog. Share with the rest of us your passion for France. Did you read a good book set in France? See a movie? Take a photo in France? Have an adventure? Eat a fabulous meal or even just a pastry? Or if you're in France now, go ahead and lord it over the rest of us. We can take it. Maybe we can all satisfy our yearnings for France, until we get there again.

~*~
Today I will feature a painting by french artist, Pierre Auguste Renoir.

Strawberries
by Pierre Auguste Renoir
featured in
The William S. Paley Collection:
A Taste for Modernism
September 15, 2012 - December 30, 2012
de Young Museum
This was the one piece that spoke to me from the exhibit. The lushness of the berries and soft edges makes this piece delectable.

Dreaming of France - 4

Dreaming of France
meme created by An Accidental Blog
join this week's round and add your link here
Grab a copy of the photo above and link back to my blog. Share with the rest of us your passion for France. Did you read a good book set in France? See a movie? Take a photo in France? Have an adventure? Eat a fabulous meal or even just a pastry? Or if you're in France now, go ahead and lord it over the rest of us. We can take it. Maybe we can all satisfy our yearnings for France, until we get there again.

~*~
Today I will feature a DVD I watched over the weekend.

Le pacte du silence
France 2003
Directed by: Graham Guit
Starring:
Gérard Depardieu as Joachim
Élodie Bouchez as Gaëlle / Sarah
Carmen Maura as Mère Emmanuelle
My rating: 4

Per imdb:
Everyone has a secret. Twins Sarah and Gaëlle near 25; for ten years, Sarah has been a fundamentalist Carmelite in a Brazilian convent, and Gaëlle has been in prison for a heinous crime.

Sarah comes to the attention of Fr. Joachim, a priest and physician; he can find no cause for her debilitating abdominal pain. When Sarah and he are transferred to Paris, Joachim looks for Gaëlle, now on probation and finding no respite from society's approbation. An enterprising reporter is digging into Gaëlle's life, the mother superior of Sarah's convent hovers over her, and Joachim investigates the phenomenon of twin's symmetry.

Is there any release from the past

My two-bits:
Slow thriller with a schlubby-turns-sexy main character (character reference mentioned in previous Dreaming of France post) that is Gérard Depardieu.

This movie left me with a HUH? at the end. Makes you want to go back and rewatch to figure out which twin is which.

There were scenes shot in Paris, but unrecognizable to me. Just goes to show. I gotta go travel back to explore more parts of town...

Take a peek:

Dreaming of France - 3

Dreaming of France
a new meme
created by An Accidental Blog
join this week's round and add your link here
Grab a copy of the photo above and link back to my blog. Share with the rest of us your passion for France. Did you read a good book set in France? See a movie? Take a photo in France? Have an adventure? Eat a fabulous meal or even just a pastry? Or if you're in France now, go ahead and lord it over the rest of us. We can take it
Maybe we can all satisfy our yearnings for France, until we get there again.

~*~
Today I will feature another movie I saw during the French Cinema Now Fall film presentation.

A World Without Women
France 2011
Directed by: Guillaume Brac
Starring:
Constance Rousseau as Patricia
Laurent Papot as Juliette
Vincent Macaigne as Sylvain
My rating: 5

In its brief but eventful runtime, this film knowingly delineates a complex parent-child relationship and explores how each party goes about seeking romantic connection.

Patricia and her daughter Juliette have rented a cottage in a lazy beachfront town. The former is flirtatious with men, verging on desperate, while her pretty and intelligent child is more timid and careful with her affections.

Both of them play a back-and-forth emotional tease with Sylvain, the flat’s schlubby proprietor, and the resulting psychological effects on all parties are presented with subtlety and impressive acting.

My two-bits:
Loved that this took place at a seaside location - wonderful views.

As the description says a schlubby character, Sylvain, is the focus in this story. Suprisingly this focus the women have on Sylvain makes him a very appealing and attractive man despite the schlubbyness.

Dreaming of France - 2

Dreaming of France
a new meme
created by An Accidental Blog
join this week's round and add your link here
Grab a copy of the photo above and link back to my blog. Share with the rest of us your passion for France. Did you read a good book set in France? See a movie? Take a photo in France? Have an adventure? Eat a fabulous meal or even just a pastry? Or if you're in France now, go ahead and lord it over the rest of us. We can take it
Maybe we can all satisfy our yearnings for France, until we get there again.

Today I will feature a movie I saw during the French Cinema Now Fall film presentation.

Mobile Home
Belgium/Luxembourg/France 2012
Directed by: François Pirot
Starring:
Arthur Dupont as Simon
Guillaume Gouix as Julien
My rating: 5

Two best friends living in the Belgian countryside conjure up a scheme for leaving town in this sly debut feature. Simon and Julien are handsome girl chasers, handicapped by the fact that they are out of work and living with their parents. Using money that his folks had set aside for his future, Simon decides to buy the titular vehicle and asks his best pal to join him on the road toward new adventures and locales. What ensues is a marvelous comedy of errors involving vehicular malfunctions, financial difficulties and female temptations. As the two pals, actors Guillaume Gouix and Arthur Dupont have terrific rapport, and the film offers a bittersweet message about friendship and the search for home.

My two-bits:
As the subtitle feature was not synced I watched over half of the movie in french. With basic high school french under my belt I was clueless as to what was actually said. BUT, the gist of what was going on was evident. It was a coming of age story that was told with likable characters.

AND then, the subtitles kicked in and things became crystal. Made me want to get a move on and start french language lessons soon.

Dreaming of France - 1

Dreaming of France
a new meme
created by An Accidental Blog
join this week's round and add your link here
Being a bit (a BIT - ahem) partial to things French, I just HAD to participate in this new Monday meme created by Paulita of An Accidental Blog.

Grab a copy of the photo above and link back to my blog. Share with the rest of us your passion for France. Did you read a good book set in France? See a movie? Take a photo in France? Have an adventure? Eat a fabulous meal or even just a pastry? Or if you're in France now, go ahead and lord it over the rest of us. We can take it
Maybe we can all satisfy our yearnings for France, until we get there again.

I have been listening wonderful tunes of the movie soundtrack from Chocolat.

Loved the book by Joanne Harris and the movie version.

Listen to Caravan performed by Johnny Depp...