Anne Wiazemsky, French writer, actress and Godard muse, dies at 70

The French writer and actress Anne Wiazemsky, who famously wrote a best-selling account of her short marriage to New Wave director Jean-Luc Godard, died of cancer in Paris on Thursday, her family said.

“Anne died this morning. She had been very sick,” her brother Pierre Wiazemsky, an actor, told AFP.

Wiazemsky, 70, made her screen debut as an elfin 19-year-old in “Au Hasard Balthazar”, Robert Bresson’s classic 1966 film about a mistreated Christ-like donkey, before meeting Godard — then at the height of his fame — a year later. They married during the shooting of his 1967 film “La Chinoise”, in which Wiazemsky plays a member of a Maoist revolutionary cell.

Her grandfather, the Nobel Prize-winning novelist François Mauriac, opposed the marriage to the radical maker of “Breathless” and “Contempt”, who was 17 years her senior. But the French student uprising and strikes of May 1968, in which Godard became a major player, overwhelmed them.

More at : Anne Wiazemsky, French writer, actress and Godard muse, dies at 70 – France 24

The First Responder

The Unknown Girl

The Unknown Girl may seem to meander in its midsection, but by the end it is gripping on every level. It’s a whodunnit complete with car chase. It’s a character study of a woman learning what her vocation will really demand of her. It’s a portrait of a community, impoverished and divided, whose only common link is the doctor. And it’s a portrayal of guilt, shame, and deliverance as rich and memorable as any I’ve seen [ . . . }

Read full post at: The First Responder | Eve Tushnet | First Things

What’s on in October

Montmartre vendange, Paris, October 11-15
As reported in July’s Connexion, Paris has a thriving vineyard scene and the annual harvest (vendange) is celebrated in style at the most famous of these among the historic streets of hilltop Montmartre. Expect wine-themed parades and exhibitions as well as concerts and plenty of tasting opportunities. On the Sunday afternoon at 17:00 on Square Louise-Michel there will be a glamorous street disco, called Le Bal Dalida, to mark the 30th anniversary of the death of the celebrated chanteuse.

Read about all the wonderful October events at: What’s on in October

Charlotte Gainsbourg Made Two Movies and an Album

What have you been doing?

Beats there a heart any closer to the center of transcontinental cool today than that of Charlotte Gainsbourg? “It’s been three years now, and I like the place where I am, of being a real foreigner—not understanding everything, just going with the flow and at the same time being an outsider,” Gainsbourg says, characteristically shy yet no-nonsense, of her midlife move to New York City
[ . . . ] More at: Charlotte Gainsbourg Made Two Movies and an Album

 

Charlotte Gainsbourg

Raising a glass to the language of intoxication

 

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Language notes on the French art of drinking

As you would expect, there are many French maxims relating to booze. Alfred de Musset, a 19th-century poet, was not too picky with his preferences: Qu’importe le flacon, pourvu qu’on ait l’ivresse – “Nevermind the bottle, as long as you’re intoxicated”. But perhaps the neatest summation of alcohol’s role in French life came from Napoleon, who once said, “In victory, you deserve Champagne. In defeat you need it.”

Autumn is upon us, and the grape harvest is under way in vineyards, from Reims to the Rhône Valley, so here we look at French expressions that relate to enjoying a tipple and having one too many.

We often think of the French as moderate – or, at least, quite sensible – drinkers, but in 2013 the phrase beuverie express appeared in the country’s official journal. It became part of the language and ‘binge drinking’ had officially arrived in France…

It is by no means at UK levels but with this in mind, a stock familiar phrase for saying someone drinks too much is boire comme un trou – literally ‘to drink like a hole’. Similar to this are boire comme une éponge (drink like a sponge) or boire comme un évier (drink like a sink).

To drink oneself into a stupor is boire jusqu’à tomber, while to drink someone under the table is faire rouler quelqu’un sous la table.

Conversely, someone who demurely sips at their drink can be said to boire à petits coups. Other words for ‘to sip’ are siroter and gobeloter.

Need to hand out a few words of warning in French about the inhibition-removing effects of a few glasses of wine? Try Ce que le sobre tient au coeur est sur la langue du buveur – “What the sober hold in their heart is on the drinker’s tongue” This is a rather long winded way of saying in vino veritas.

Cul sec! (‘dry bottom’, or ‘Bottoms up!’).

 

Source: Raising a glass to the language of intoxication

Sacre bleu! Cousteau’s life on screen at the Dunamaise Arts Centre

The magical biopic film featuring mesmerising footage of underwater life, ‘L’Odyssée’ is this week’s big screen treat at the Dunamaise Arts Centre.A French national treasure, Cousteau’s name will resonate with anyone who remembers the 1960s TV series The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau on board The Calypso and his later work as an impassioned environmentalist.Highly influential and a fearlessly ambitious pioneer, filmmaker and conservationist, Cousteau’s aquatic adventure covers roughly thirty years of a life rich in achievements.The film screens this Wednesday, October 4, at 8pm.

Source: Sacre bleu! Cousteau’s life on screen at the Dunamaise Arts Centre – Leinster Express