Bonne année, tout le monde!
There hasn't been an update for a long time, but I've been pretty busy with the holidays (which included making a six-course French meal for my in-laws). Next time I'll share with you the delicious French food I've been making lately, but now I want to talk about a wonderful little movie my husband took me to last night that made me miss Paris again.
Have you seen Hugo yet? I adored it! Everything about the film is so French, which is impressive for an American film. Most American films set in France have a semblance of French culture, but you can feel the American-ness poking through. Despite the British accents and the happy ending, the whole film felt incredibly French. It even had secondary plots that didn't have much to do with the main plots, but added beautifully to the story. Every word on the screen was in French. Even the book the children read was in French. (My husband laughed at me for leaning forward to read the book.) In lots of American films, the words would have been in English so the audience could read along with the characters.
I loved the colors of the film--bright blues and reds and golds, even though most of the movie to place in a dull train station. I also thought the actors and costumes fit perfectly. Christopher Lee even tried to add a little French accent to his voice. The soundtrack was superb, with traditional accordion music through most of the film. The film also tied to French history, as one of the main characters is a real French film maker from the early 1900s.
I would definitely pay to see this movie again and I want it in my DVD library (preferably with a French language track, though most movies sold in the U.S. only come with Spanish language tracks...)
