“Divines”, THE new film

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Oulaya Amamra plays Dounia and is amazing

Oulaya Amamra plays Dounia and is amazing

I would never have seen this movie if Frédérique Bredin, President of Centre national du cinéma, had not invited me to a private screening at the beginning of the summer. « Divines », a new film by Houda Benyamina, will be the talk of the Rentrée in Paris. With a budget of under 3 million € and three fabulous lead girls from the Projects, this first film won a Caméra d’or at the Cannes film festival. And it was bought by Netflix for a record sum of 1 M€.Read More

From Warsaw with love

parisdiaHappy moments, Performing arts3 Comments

Benedictine abbey of Tyniec on the Vistule near Cracaw, survived all invasions

The Benedictine abbey of Tyniec on the Vistula near Krakow, survived all invasions

« What do you think of our country? » was the anxious question asked by my host after a four day tour of Warsaw and Krakow. Well this is not so easy to answer, since Poland is so different from the western world I know and yet, it is so familiar. What struck me the most, was the extreme kindness and refinement in manners that I experienced all along my stay, from a dinner guest kissing my hand (a perfect baise-main) and the bed and breakfast lady curtsying to me in Krakow. This reminded me of my childhood in France, when people were nice to each other, picked up their friends at the airport and actually cared.Read More

A first book of the Rentrée

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Jean François roseau's second novel enters Legend

Jean François Roseau’s second novel will be the event of the Rentrée, photo Valery Wallace

As the French come back from vacation, a fascinating novel, “La Chute d’Icare”,  by 26 year old Jean François Roseau, about a Corsican aviator during the Second World War, is bound to be the talk of the town for the Rentrée littéraire. It is published by Bernard de Fallois, who surprised everyone four years ago with the huge best seller, « La vérité sur l’affaire Harry Quebert » by Joël Dicker.

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Charles Le Brun reigns over Louvre Lens

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Charles Le Brun, L’Enfance, huile sur bois, vers 1639-1640, Genève, collection particulière © Sotheby’s

Charles Le Brun, L’Enfance, vers 1639-1640, Genève, collection particulière © Sotheby’s

Charles Le Brun always felt a little boring to me even in the Galerie des Glaces in Versailles. This Royal painter, who worked for thirty years for Louis XIV, is rediscovered at Louvre museum in Lens, thanks to a brilliant staging by Atelier Maciy Fiszer and an easy historiography. The excursion two hours North of Paris is well worth the effort.Read More

Cornwall, old and new

parisdiaArt, Flowers and gardens6 Comments

St Levan church in Porthcurno is magical

St Levan church in Porthcurno is up from th Minack theatre and the beach

I have been going to Cornwall for 25 years and every time my heart pounds with excitement as I drive from Exeter airport to Penzance and Land’s End. This year was full of surprises with a new sculpture garden in Gulval and more delicious trendy cafés, which took over from the Tate St Ives.Read More