Culture/elle : film

So there has been a profound lack of content where there should be posts. I will blame this on being home and being sick. The culture has sort of fallen out of my life a bit, so here is a post from last month that I wrote and then... Well. Forgot to post.

I went to the cinema with a few friends - sadly not the studio cinema - to see two films in one week. Madness, I know! Here's my write up on them both. Mea Culpa - the first film - was actually really sad and quite harrowing with an ending that wasn't happy but was very good. With some distance between me and the film I can see a major hole in the plot where an explanation should be, but I'm not sure if that's just because I was finding it a bit difficult to follow at the start.

The very next day, we saw the new version of La Belle et la Bête. Of course I was prepared to love it from the start, being a fan of all things fairy tale, and my feelings were not betrayed. The film was gorgeous - delicious scenes of greenery and stone and rose petals, and all in all it reminded of everything I love about fairy tale illustration. The relationship between Bell and the Beast did feel as though it was moving way too fast: the director did not make any use at all of those wonderful cinematographic techniques that indicate the passing of time and this really affected my reception of the story. Talking to my friends afterwards, it would appear that I was not the only one. I also had a problem with the Beast's curse - it was a plot point, and to an extent it was thought out, but not nearly well enough to satisfy close scrutiny. But that apart, it was a film I loved, and I would wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone thinking to go and see it :)

So, old post aside, last week saw us getting some sun. And I do like a bit of sun! Especially here in Tours :) I've done a lot of sitting by the river and drinks outside of cafés, which has been nice.

I also passed through Paris again. Here is Gare d'Austerlitz, photographed at around eight in the morning on the walk across from Gare de Lyon.

It is not very clear, but it the bottom of the photograph is a boat upon which there appeared to be a party that was still going on. In retrospect, that seemed to be most of what I saw in Paris that morning.

Little Newman

Over and out!