Spazz2 Days In Paris - Part 2 - On Seeing '2 Days' in Paris
May 2nd 2008 03:55
While planning my first trip to Paris last September I couldn’t help but daydream about the possibility of spending every waking hour while there in one of the city’s many repertoire theatres, happily becoming entranced by films I would never get to see on a screen in Perth. I imagined myself a 21st Century Henri Langlois programming all my favourite films for future Godards and Truffauts to watch in my tiny one screen theatre.
Here's what happened:
Spending every waking minute in a theatre was always an impractical idea obviously, there’s so much to see, taste and experience in Paris. Not to mention my wife would not enjoy it and would be left abandoned. I did however, expect to see 2 or maybe 3 films on one of Paris’ classic revival screens.
When we got to Le Champo they were screening a 13-film retrospective of Hsiao-hsien Hou. Jackpot! This is what I’m talkin’ ‘bout! But, none with English subtitles! So I dragged my unlettered, monolingual ass across the street to a bistro and drowned my sorrows in foie gras and wine. The same thing occurred at each of the other Latin Quarter theatres we found. Either there were no English subtitles or they were showing ubiquitous American films like ‘The Godfather’ or the times did not work out. So the dream died, like Belmondo at the end of ‘Breathless’ (oops, I hope you’ve seen Breathless!) and all I had to show for my trouble was a few extra pounds from many consolatory helpings of pate.
We decided after all this to still see a film or two in Paris even if it meant going to the multi-plex. My wife suggested that we see ‘Ratatouille’ and after pulling a tendon in my ocular cavity from vigorous eye rolling, I relented and ended up having about as much fun as I’ve ever had watching a movie. As much I have come to love ‘Ratatouille’, I can confirm that it is best watched with a French soundtrack and English subtitles! To somehow quell my desire to see a ‘serious’ film, we bought tickets to see ‘2 Days in Paris’.
After calming down from the rude awakening of assigned seating (a feature that sadly has made its way to Perth), we quickly realized that the parts of the film spoken in French did not have subtitles. Of course, we should have known. However, as I wrote in Part 1 of this post, a scene in which Delpy's character takes Adam Goldberg home for lunch and spirited discussion (mostly in French) is fall down hysterical for several reasons. The situation was enhanced for us because, just like Goldberg, we had no idea what they were saying about him either! Goldberg's reactions trying desperately to understand what was being said were so real, you didn't even need to know what was being said. The rest of the untitled scenes followed suit, and set up for us a unique situation when we got back home. We could see this movie again for the first time!
On my next visit to Paris, I will allow nothing to stop me seeing a film in one of the revival theatres, even if it means learning French. Recently doors have started to close on some of the great theatres nestled away in the Latin Quarter and elsewhere in Paris, which is a shame. I'm glad however that I was able to still have a great movie memory during my time there, even if it was mostly because of a rat.
Here's what happened:
Spending every waking minute in a theatre was always an impractical idea obviously, there’s so much to see, taste and experience in Paris. Not to mention my wife would not enjoy it and would be left abandoned. I did however, expect to see 2 or maybe 3 films on one of Paris’ classic revival screens.
When we got to Le Champo they were screening a 13-film retrospective of Hsiao-hsien Hou. Jackpot! This is what I’m talkin’ ‘bout! But, none with English subtitles! So I dragged my unlettered, monolingual ass across the street to a bistro and drowned my sorrows in foie gras and wine. The same thing occurred at each of the other Latin Quarter theatres we found. Either there were no English subtitles or they were showing ubiquitous American films like ‘The Godfather’ or the times did not work out. So the dream died, like Belmondo at the end of ‘Breathless’ (oops, I hope you’ve seen Breathless!) and all I had to show for my trouble was a few extra pounds from many consolatory helpings of pate.
Le Champo Theatre in the Latin Quarter
We decided after all this to still see a film or two in Paris even if it meant going to the multi-plex. My wife suggested that we see ‘Ratatouille’ and after pulling a tendon in my ocular cavity from vigorous eye rolling, I relented and ended up having about as much fun as I’ve ever had watching a movie. As much I have come to love ‘Ratatouille’, I can confirm that it is best watched with a French soundtrack and English subtitles! To somehow quell my desire to see a ‘serious’ film, we bought tickets to see ‘2 Days in Paris’.
After calming down from the rude awakening of assigned seating (a feature that sadly has made its way to Perth), we quickly realized that the parts of the film spoken in French did not have subtitles. Of course, we should have known. However, as I wrote in Part 1 of this post, a scene in which Delpy's character takes Adam Goldberg home for lunch and spirited discussion (mostly in French) is fall down hysterical for several reasons. The situation was enhanced for us because, just like Goldberg, we had no idea what they were saying about him either! Goldberg's reactions trying desperately to understand what was being said were so real, you didn't even need to know what was being said. The rest of the untitled scenes followed suit, and set up for us a unique situation when we got back home. We could see this movie again for the first time!
Adam Goldberg, pointing in fluent French
On my next visit to Paris, I will allow nothing to stop me seeing a film in one of the revival theatres, even if it means learning French. Recently doors have started to close on some of the great theatres nestled away in the Latin Quarter and elsewhere in Paris, which is a shame. I'm glad however that I was able to still have a great movie memory during my time there, even if it was mostly because of a rat.
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