Heidi Ellison
Les Poupées Russes
A Tour du Monde in Clichés
What happened to the Cédric Klapisch who directed Chacun Cherche Son Chat (When the Cat’s Away), an enchanting shoestring-budget film made in 1996 that didn’t have a single cliché in it? A charming and realistic look at an ordinary young … Read More
Objets Trouvés
What Once Was Lost Now Is Found An employee stores some of the 500 objects turned in every day. All is not lost for those whose pockets are picked in the Métro or who lose an antique earring in the … Read More
Moscow
Moody Murat Jean-Louis Murat: too literary for commercial success? Photo: Jean-Louis Murat © EMI France/Labels Jean-Louis Murat, a poet, singer, songwriter and musician with a dark side, has a hard core of fans in France, but has never been able … Read More
Mathieu Boogaerts
Minimalist Mathieu Mathieu Boogaerts, a song stylist with minimalist charm. Singer/songwriter/musician Mathieu Boogaerts’ new album, Michel (Tôt ou Tard), is deceptively simple and quietly seductive. His quirky singing style is sometimes reminiscent of that of Vincent Delerm, but Boogaerts is … Read More
Juliette
New Chanson Française Juliette, once the French Harry Connick, Jr., has struck out in new musical directions. Photo: Lisa Roze Juliette Noureddine, better known as Juliette, made her name by singing in the tradition of French chanteuses like Edith Piaf … Read More
Camille
La Björk Française Camille: a French chanteuse with a difference. Photo: © EMI France Camille, a 26-year-old Parisian chanteuse who is being hailed as the “French Björk,” is confounding all the clichés about contemporary French music with her original second … Read More
Pot de Terre
Where Tourists Dare to Tread The restaurant-lined Rue du Pot de Fer; maybe the tourists are right this time. April 20, 2005: There are two types of tourists: those who go where all the other tourists go because they are … Read More
De Battre Mon Coeur S’est Arrêté
Classical Criminal
March 30, 2005: The French critics love it and are even comparing Jacques Audiard, the director of De Battre Mon Coeur S’est Arrêté, to Martin Scorsese, but that seems like wishful thinking. Something’s missing in this remake of James Toback’s … Read More
Boudu
Saved from Drowning Yet Again
March 15, 2005: Was it really necessary to make a third version of the same film, especially when the first was such a perfect gem? In 1932, Jean Renoir made Boudu Sauvé des Eaux, with the brilliant Michel Simon playing … Read More