Monday, January 25, 2010

French Kiss

I love so many lovely little things that come from France, are about France, or are french. This includes many movies such as the classic Audrey Hepburn "Funny Face", "Charade", or "Paris When it Sizzles". Or there's another Cary Grant film (he was in Charade with Hepburn) "To Catch a Thief". Then there's all the lovely Leslie Caron movies like "Gigi", "An American in Paris", or even "Chocolate" with an older Caron who is DARLING! Then you also have the Meg Ryan and Kevin Kline movie "French Kiss". A newer movie that takes place (part of the time) is "Julie and Julia" which has Meryl Streep as Julia Child who brought the art of french cooking to America (THANK GOODNESS). Oh and who can forget "Moulin Rouge!"!!! Oh and what is France without a little Coco? This is why I list the Shirley MacLaine "Coco Chanel".
Then there's the darling period films such as "Scaramouche", "A Tale of Two Cities", "The Scarlet Pimpernel", "Marie Antoinette", "The Three Musketeers", "The Man in the Iron Mask", and "The Count of Monte Cristo".
But for a REAL french film my all time favorite is "Les Choristes".
As far as music goes I enjoy Frances Gall (also goes by France Gall), the very famous Claude Debussy, Charles Gounod (Romeo et Juliette), Paul Dukas (The Sorcerer's Apprentice), Adolphe Adam (Giselle), and Camille Saint-Saens (Carnival of the Animals). I know that all but one of those were composers but they're lovely.
Now as far as literature is concerned their fairy tales are some of the best next to the german Brothers Grimm. We can thank them for both Cinderella (speaking of Cinderella, "Ever After" is splendid) and Beauty and the Beast. But one of my all time favorite books of all time is The Scarlet Pimpernel which is set during the French Revolution. I highly suggest you read it as soon as you can get your hands on it.
Oh and their artists were remarkable as well. To list a few there's Nicolas de Largilliere, Jean-Marc Nattier, Jean-Honore Fragonard, Andre le Notre, Francois Boucher, Claude Joseph Vernet, Alexis Simon Belle, Elisabeth-Louise Vigee-Le Brun, Claude Monet (one of the few impressionists I actually like... I do like some Renoir paintings but not his more famous ones, but more his of children), and Marie-Denise Villers who painted one my all time favorite paintings "Young Woman Drawing".
Au revoir!!
--- Gabrielle Jean Murphy

ps. Favorite french actor is Louis Jourdan (Gigi, The Swan, and Three Coins in a Fountain)