Author: THE HOBBLEDEHOY

Michael Stevenson, aka Dai Bando, Johnny Foreigner, Monsieur Pas De Merde, is a blogger of French and British culture. His blogs "Pas De Merde" and "The Hobbledehoy" have been called "marvelous" by some, and "meh" by others.

Call My Agent’s Liliane Rovère Makes Me Yearn to Be Old

I got the 88-year-old actress on the phone to ask her how to live

I am an unrepentant Call My Agent freak. I have seen the Netflix hit about Parisian talent agents, their assistants, and their famous guest star clients (including Isabelle Huppert, Monica Bellucci, and Jean Reno) three times and plan to do it again soon. I adore every character, but my favorite is Arlette, played by Liliane Rovère. She was 82 when the show began, and she’s 88 now. The way she plays Arlette makes me yearn to be old the way most actors make me yearn to be gorgeous. Arlette is not the boss, but the doyenne, the seasoned agent, the one who was there from the beginning, and whose eyes smolder with the lessons of the past and blaze with a hard-earned sixth sense for the future. Continue reading “Call My Agent’s Liliane Rovère Makes Me Yearn to Be Old” →

Review: ‘Our Struggles’ (Nos Batailles)’

Romain Duris is the factory worker struggling to balance his responsibilities

Dir: Guillaume Senez. Belgium-France. 2018. 98mins

Available on Amazon

A hardworking husband and father with solid social convictions and major responsibilities on the floor of a gargantuan dispatching warehouse in provincial France is obliged to recalibrate every corner of his life after an abrupt change at home in Our Struggles (Nos Batailles).

Co-writer/director Guillaume Senez stakes a legitimate claim to his chosen narrative territory

A thoughtfully structured indictment of the creeping precariousness of steady work and exploration of the balancing act of a man suddenly left entirely in charge of his two young children, this modest but convincing film benefits from a fine ensemble cast and a committed central performance by Romain Duris.

Trendy articles praise the concept of “disruption” and bow down before the supposed value that “disruptors” lend to the marketplace, but most people probably have a soft spot for stability in their work and home lives. One such man, Olivier (Duris), is about to get thrown for a loop he could definitely have done without.

There’s not an overabundance of “human” qualities in Agathe (Sarah Le Picard) from Human Resources when she tells Olivier that one of the older workers under his supervision can’t keep up the pace anymore. Olivier defends the man in question, but the employee’s contract isn’t renewed and bad things result. Continue reading “Review: ‘Our Struggles’ (Nos Batailles)’” →

Gad Elmaleh releases ‘Dansez sur moi,’ an album of Claude Nougaro covers

By Catherine Rickman | Frenchly

When you heard Gad Elmaleh was working on something new, you probably got excited for a Netflix standup special, sitcom, comedy album, or international tour. But this giant of French comedy, so widely revered as to be referred to as “the French Seinfeld,” has something new up his sleeve: some surprising singing chops.

Over the course of the pandemic, Elmaleh has been recording an album of covers under Blue Note records, called “Dansez sur moi,” and re-envisioning the songs of the French master chanteur, Claude Nougaro. The Toulousian singer, who passed away in 2004, blended American jazz and Brazilian and African musical influences into the French chanson style. His hits range from the twangy, percussive “Bidonville,” a song about France’s slums; to “Cécile ma fille,” whose haunting hook describes Nougaro’s fear and wonder at becoming a father.

Elmaleh released the album’s first single, “Armstrong,” back in September, followed by “Nougayork,” and “Le cinéma.”

The album was set to be released in November, but was delayed due to COVID-19. A video for the song “Toulouse” was released in December. Set outside, with Elmaleh and his band playing by the river, the love song to Nougaro’s hometown was shot on site, the lyrics cut with footage of the city, include one lingering image of a larger-than-life mural of Nougaro on the side of a building. Continue reading “Gad Elmaleh releases ‘Dansez sur moi,’ an album of Claude Nougaro covers” →

Comme une Française: French subjunctive for English speakers

If you’re an English speaker, you might have trouble using the French subjunctive. It comes up a lot in the comments on Comme une Française! Today, let’s discover this piece of French grammar in more detail, so you can master it once and for all.

Take care and stay safe. 😘 from Grenoble, France.

Géraldine

France: Exports Of Wines And Spirits Fell 13.9% In 2020

The global pandemic and a trade war with the U.S. delivered a one-two punch to France’s wine and spirits industry in 2020. According to the Federation of Wine and Spirits Exporters (FEVS), exports fell 13.9% last year as the industry hopes a new presidential administration will deliver some relief [ . . . ]

Continue at: France: Exports Of Wines And Spirits Fell 13.9% In 2020