Heidi Ellison
Actrices
Actresses Acting Up
How strange to watch a deeply misogynistic film written, directed by and starring women. In Actrices, directed by Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, most of the female characters are depicted as highly irrational and hysterical (if not insane) sexual predators whose main … Read More
Faut que Ça Danse
The Tyranny of the Family
If Tolstoy were alive today, he might have rephrased the famous first sentence of Anna Karenina to read: “Happy families are all alike; every dysfunctional family is dysfunctional in its own way.” Faut que ça Danse (Gotta Dance), directed by … Read More
Hôtel Pavillon Nation
Stars Come Out in Humble Hood Original design touches include sinks made of white pebbles embedded in red resin. As real estate costs rise and gentrification spreads through Paris, the area around Nation, once considered a less-than-desirable residential backwater on … Read More
Hôtel Lumen Paris Louvre
Let There Be Light One of the bright rooms in the Hôtel Lumen. “Lumen” is Latin for “light,” and the lighting in this new Paris hotel (which opened in September) is one of its best features, especially in the four … Read More
Les Amours d’Astrée et Céladon
Pastoral Period Piece
During his long career, the now 87-year-old French director Eric Rohmer has made some 50 films, many of them literally “talkies” that follow the physical, philosophical and emotional wanderings of two or three attractive young people plunked down in a … Read More
Cité de l’Architecture et du Patrimoine
Monumental Success
Just outside the tall windows of the splendid new Cité de l’Architecture et du Patrimoine stands one of France’s most famous monuments, the Eiffel Tower, while inside visitors inspect detailed casts and scale models of many of the country’s other … Read More
Le Severo
Here’s the Beef Le Severo owner William Bernet stands proud in front of his menu. Simplicity and goodness rule at Le Severo. This is the place to go when you crave a big hunk of flavorful beef with a side … Read More
La Rentrée Littéraire Sept. 2007
Après le Déluge The usual tsunami of new works of fiction is being published in France again this fall: 727, to be precise, 493 of them written in French, including 102 first novels. The hot ticket of the season, however, … Read More
Two Days in Paris
French-American Culture Clash
Not only does actress Julie Delpy act in Two Days in Paris, but she also wrote, directed and edited her second feature film, and composed the music. The result is surprising success: a smart, witty Woody-Allen-style comedy with the human … Read More
Et Toi, T’es sur Qui?
Teenagers in Love
Et Toi, T’es sur Qui? is the simplest of films – the story of the awakening of love and sexual desire in a small group of teenage classmates – but it is told with such gentle humor and authenticity that … Read More