La Horse

E had the idea that this short 1970 film, La Horse, would be a good family film for us to watch w A. I'm not sure a film about an errant grandson who gets his family wrapped up in a heroin deal (and his sister gang raped) is really family material, but the movie was interesting, and Jean Gabin was terrific. E was at least able to warn A (and me) of the violent scenes. Although I'm still having nightmares of the poor cattle hit by the car over and over to injure them. Don't think steak is on the menu for the upcoming days...

Jeff Koons at the Chateau de Versailles

I had the idea that seeing Jeff Koons at the Chateau de Versailles would be a fun thing to do w A, since it's hard to imagine art that's more accessible to an 8 year old than Koons (giant balloon sculptures and Disney characters). We didn't manage to get there in December before it was supposed to end, but it actually got extended and we booked tickets in the final days and went to see it Saturday night.

It's a shame to visit Versailles at night, because the best part of it is the gardens, and the magnificent over-the-top Gallerie des Glaces (Hall of Mirrors) is impressive during the day because it reflects the gardens over and over. It's also not so fun in the cold, since you don't feel like lingering in the garden if you do go out there (there was a Koons installation in the gardens that we froze to see, then were unimpressed by).

The Koons works were as expected - the NYTimes summed it nicely as an "American Invasion", but the contrast of modern and classic made it much more interesting (A described it as "Old and Original"). A enjoyed it (more than he would probably enjoy a classical art show). Still, hanging beach toys on fences or from the ceiling does not make things "art" to me, and I generally think he's trying too card to be clever (or commercial). As I've felt the last several times I've seen big names in contemporary art, I can wait a while before giving this genre another go...

A liked Puppy best of all, and I thought the Disney-esque flowers were clever in the overdone Versailles bedroom with the flowery wallpaper. The contrast of the lobster raft and the fuscia drawing room was original.

24 heures dans la vie d'une femme - theatre

We saw 24 heures dans la vie d'une femme tonight (English title must be 24 hours in the life of a woman) by Stefan Zweig. It was a surprise for me, E called me late in the day to propose going to a play. I usually try to read the plays before we see them so I can follow along effectively, but this wasn't possible. It was pretty hard to follow, as the text used a lot of passe simple and imparfait du subjonctif, neither of which are conjugasions used in everyday French. What's more, it's actually a short story converted into a one-act (hour and a half) play, with huge long monologues, so I had to be very carefully focused to capture everything.

The text was really amazing, the acting was good but not great. The theatre seats were benches with no back support and my back aches from sitting at close attention for so long. But it was a really nice surprise for the evening, and makes me want to move Stefan Zweig up on the reading list.

It was a movie fest yesterday - we stayed at the theatre and hit a second movie, this time Burn After Reading, which has just arrived in France. It was good, great actors, amusing story. Not one of the Coen brothers best, but not terrible, and certainly a fun couple of hours.

Two Lovers - movie

We went to see Two Lovers today. E has been keeping up with current releases he's wanted to catch (a good thing because I haven't been paying attention). As usual, he made a good choice. Two Lovers was well-acted and interesting, a "true" love story, not at all mushy, and not a Hollywood happy ending. My American girl would have loved a good chick flick ending, but this movie was more French feeling, more real, than that. Joaquin Phoenix was excellent and very convincing.

Emil Nolde

We went to see Emil Nolde at the Grand Palais this morning. Nolde was a German expressionist painter who was contemporary to many, and frankly in general interesting but not better than the more famous artists of his day.

There were a few really great paintings, but most were just okay. His watercolors, especially near the end of his life when he was not allowed by the Nazis to paint, were quite interesting.


It's been a while since I've made it to any museums in Paris, so I was glad to start 2009 off on this footing!