Best French Shows on Netflix — ‘Lupin’ & ‘Call My Agent!’ Review

Francophilia finally comes to Netflix.

By Leena Kim

Until very recently, French content on Netflix left un petit peu to be desired. It hasn’t been a barren landscape, exactly, but the genre hadn’t quite reached the level of American success as shows and films from some other foreign nations (see: Korean dramas and the Spanish hit Money Heist). And no, Emily in Paris does not count.

Now, the Breton tides have turned. Take the critical and commercial successes of Lupin and Call My Agent! The former, which premiered on Netflix earlier this month, is projected to hit 70 million views in its first 28 days, surpassing The Queen’s Gambit, and the latter, whose fourth and final season dropped on the streaming platform last week, has been around since 2015 but is finally getting the international attention it deserves.

The acclaim is warranted; these two shows are excellent. But there’s also the perpetual American obsession with all things French and especially anything with Paris as a backdrop, which is even more wanderlust-inducing during this era of quarantine and border lockdowns. This truth undoubtedly explains Emily in Paris‘s outsize, if polarizing, popularity last fall. Refreshingly, these shows are free of tired clichés about Parisian life, and hopefully indicative of what’s to come. Netflix has made a clear commitment to investing in France: last year the streaming behemoth opened sprawling new headquarters in Paris and pledged to double its investment in French productions and partnerships.

But until then, put these two gems in your queue ASAP.

Arsène Lupin is as indelible to the cultural canon of France as Sherlock and Bond are to England. For those unfamiliar with this gentleman chief and master of disguise, created by novelist Maurice Leblanc in 1905, think of him as an early 20th-century Danny Ocean, except that Lupin works alone and only robs those who really deserve it—usually severely ethically challenged one percenters. There have been countless adaptations of the character, in TV, film, theatre, video games, literature, even a Japanese manga series.

Continue reading “Best French Shows on Netflix — ‘Lupin’ & ‘Call My Agent!’ Review” →

Exploring France through its famous wine regions

There’s a famous quote by Rumi that best describes the importance of a fine wine, “Either give me more wine or leave me alone”

Only a true connoisseur of wine would connect to this saying and only a true lover of wine would know the real worth of a French wine. France, besides being famous for its rich culture, age-old traditions and grand architecture, the country is globally renowned for its wine. The world swears by French wines and every region here produces its own beverage. So let’s take a trip to some famous French vineyards that will tell you everything to plan your vineyard trip in France.

Wine of Provence

Your French vineyard tour won’t be complete without tasting the wine of Provence. This breathtaking French region is just a few hours drive from Nice and is known for producing some fantastic wines. This entire territory is dotted with vineyards and one can also enjoy wine tasting experiences here. The warm climate and the region’s proximity to the sea makes it a perfect place for grapes plantation. Syrah, Cabernet, Sauvignon, Cinsault and Clairette are some of the best wine brands here.

Wine of Loire ValleyCredit: iStock

Wine of Loire Valley

Loire Valley is another famous wine producing region in France. Some of the popular vineyards here are located in Anjou-Saumur, Touraine, The Pays Nantais and Central Vineyards. Loire Valley wines are light and that’s what makes them so popular. One can choose from a stunning selection of red wines, white wines and sweet roses.

Wine of Burgundy Credit: iStock

Wine of Burgundy

Burgundy is a historical French territory famous for its vineyard regions. The wine regions of Burgundy include Côte de Nuits, Châblis, Côte de Beaune, Côte Chalonnaise and Beaujolais, to name a few. The wine produced in this region is considered complex, which makes it very expensive. The region also produces some amazing white wines made from Chardonnay, and red wines made from Pinot Noir.

Wine of Bordeaux Credit: iStock

Wine of Bordeaux

A wine lover’s list of favorite wines won’t be complete without mentioning Bordeaux wine. Counted among the most famous and also the largest wine regions in France, Bordeaux is the world capital of wine! Situated in Southern France along the sea, the wine produced here tastes unique as it comes mixed with mineral qualities.

Rhone Valley wineCredit: iStock

Rhone Valley wine

Another popular wine region in France is the Rhone Valley in Southeastern France. The region is spread across the meandering Rhone River and the wines produced here are the most expensive one. The Rhone Valley wine is known as Côtes du Rhône wine and some of the prominent products here include Grenache Blanc, Marsanne and Viognier.

Source: Exploring France through its famous wine regions

January 30: Remembering Richard Brautigan on his birthday

BY DAN BUCKWALTER

He was a meteor.

He was an author of such works as Trout Fishing in America, In Watermelon Sugar and The Hawkline Monster, wedged between the Beat Generation and the hippie movement. He showered readers of the 1960s and ’70s with inspiring spare, proletarian ideals in his novels.

He was a poet who foreshadowed the vise-like, smothering grip that technology has over us today in the poem “All Watched Over By Machines of Loving Grace.”

He was, as biographer and admirer William Hjortsberg noted in Jubilee Hitchhiker, a writer who combined an “easy offhand voice” with “concern for average working-class people, his matter-of-fact treatment of death, and his often-startling juxtaposition of wildly disparate images.”   

Then he was gone. Continue reading “January 30: Remembering Richard Brautigan on his birthday” →

Ah, zut! All the French references you missed in Call My Agent! – by a French person

Most of the acclaimed French series is written in a way that gives it international appeal, but some niche cultural references may fly under the radar. Resident French person Clémence Michallon explains

By Clémence Michallon

As a French person, I have experienced the success of Call My Agent! with the same pride I imagine parents feel when their child takes their first steps. We French people are good at a lot of things – sulking, gazing into the abyss with a touch of ennui, and rebelling against any and all forms of authority – but television isn’t our strongest suit. We love watching it, usually in English and with subtitles. Of course, there are some good TV shows kicking around (Spiral, The Returned). But great French TV shows? They’re like solar eclipses. They happen approximately once a decade, and when they do, it’s truly a sight to behold.

Call My Agent! is a rare, indisputably great French TV show. Set at a fictional Parisian talent agency called ASK, it tells the story of a group of agents trying – and often failing – to keep their famous clients happy and successful. Each episode focuses on one or several guest stars – real-life French celebrities who play fanciful versions of themselves. Past guests have included Jean Dujardin (The Artist), Monica Bellucci (Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Irréversible, Spectre), and Isabelle Huppert (The Lacemaker, The Piano Teacher, Elle).

The series just supposedly wrapped up with a fourth season, although co-creator and co-producer Dominique Besnehard has teased a possible fifth instalment on French television. In any case, the fourth series has been met with acclaim, including by The Independent, which gave it a four-star review.

I can only approve. But as I devoured the latest season, I found myself wondering how much of the show’s humour might become lost in translation. Most of Call My Agent! is written in a way that gives the show broad, international appeal, but the series is also peppered with more niche references to French pop culture.

As mentioned above, I’m French. Really French. Grew-up-watching-primetime-TV-in-France French. Went-to-school-with-the-guy-who-plays-Gabriel-in-Emily–in–Paris French. But I’m aware not everyone had the (mis)fortune of coming of age in France in the Nineties – a time when the country was doing rather poorly at the Oscars (10 submissions, four nominations, one victory) but excelled at football (won the ’98 World Cup).

If you’ve watched season four of Call My Agent! and would like to understand who Dany Boon is, why everyone keeps calling the actor in episode one Patrick when it’s clearly stated that his name is Franck, and what the big deal is about Télérama, read on. Here is my humble guide to the French references you might have missed in Call My Agent!. Pairs well with tripe crème brie and a nice Merlot.

Franck Dubosc, the main guest star featured in episode one, is a very well-known comedian and actor in France. His credits are many, but among them is the film series Camping. Over the course of three films released between 2006 and 2016, Camping has told the story of Patrick Chirac, a man who loves to go, well, camping. Among the franchise’s catchphrases is the infamous: “Alors, on n’attend pas Patrick?” – which translates to “So, you’re not waiting for Patrick?”

Uttered by a speedo-clad Dubosc to a group of campers who dare have drinks without him, the sentence has become so infamous that even this writer, who has never watched a Camping movie, got the joke when it made its way onto Call My Agent!.

 

Continue reading “Ah, zut! All the French references you missed in Call My Agent! – by a French person” →

The travel interview with Pauline Croze, singer

She has had the guitar (and voice) that itches for almost 30 years. Since then, she scratches them a little (a lot) to offer us very pretty songs, five albums and tours here and elsewhere. To celebrate the year 2021, Pauline Croze is back with a new single called “Solution”. “Sketched” by designer Joann Sfar, the singer offers songs mixed with syncopations specific to contemporary urban pop. Between two songs , the young woman tells us here about her travels from Belgrade to West Africa, her love for Daft Punk and Mac de Marco and her little travel habits. Selected pieces from a three-part interview. 

Pauline Croze, before departure

You who have to sleep often at the hotel as part of your job, can you describe your home to me?
At home it’s quite stripped down, I like order, clarity…. The walls are light, it’s a very bright house, it’s a place where I must feel good. I also like working there. My room is very uncluttered, there are plants, flowers, a lot of books and comics.

A world tour, does that tempt you or would you have tempted?
Yes that would have tempted me, but I never had the guts to do it. I can panic very quickly when I am lost in a place. Sometimes even when I am in a place and I am lost, I can no longer read the names of the streets… That is to say!

Are you the type to pack your suitcase in advance or hard before departure?
No, suitcase in advance, even when it’s for vacation, you quickly realize that you take a thousand things that are unnecessary … I hate being loaded. I like the bare minimum.

What should you always carry with you in your cabin baggage?
A notebook, pens, an essential oil that soothes me, like bergamot or vetiver, a book of course …

Where are you going to sleep next or should you have slept (due to COVID)?
At the moment I am often at home, so no improvised bed! Continue reading “The travel interview with Pauline Croze, singer” →