Métro Boulot Dodo...

I have been to London twice in the past week, and each time I have travelled on the tube. This reminded me of February when I went on a school trip to Paris, and me and my friend Emily got lost in one of the métro stations. It was a hot day, we had no idea where we were going, our phones had no signal and we were carrying very heavy suitcases. This is perhaps not the most positive way of starting a post about the métro, but this memory made me think more about the métro itself.

The métro is a huge part of Parisian culture. Pretty much everyone uses it, and it is the second busiest metro in Europe, and one of the densest in the world. However, I think one of the main reasons why it is so famous is the architecture.

First, there's the entrances.

This one (left) is, I think, the most famous. When the métro was first announced in 1899, a competition was held to design the architecture for the entrances to the métro. Eventually, this style was chosen. It was designed by Hector Guimard, an art-nouveau architect. Guimard also designed another similar entrance, although this had a glass awning (right). However, only two of these still survive, which I think is a shame.

These are the other famous métro entrances, although they are more like signposts. They appeared in the 1920's, and became more popular during the 1930's. I think the one on the left is particularly famous.

There are many different styles of the actual stations of the métro, but what I found most interesting were the themed stations. Instead of writing about the different styles, I thought I'd write about my favourite of these special stations.

Arts et Métiers (line 11)- This station was renovated in 1994. It was designed by François Schuiten, a Belgian comic book artist, to look like the interior of a submarine. He was inspired by Jules Verne, a science-fiction novelist.

I just think that this station is amazing. I am seriously considering going to Paris again just to see it. Is that sad?

Cluny- La Sorbonne (line 10)- This station was redecorated when it was opened in 1988 after being closed for 50 years. It is situated in the Latin Quarter, and the decoration celebrates the writers of this area of Paris.

Concorde (line 12)- The wall of this station is completely covered in tiles with letters on- making up the text "Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen" (in French "Déclaration des droits de l'Homme et du Citoyen"). This was designed by Françoise Schein. Concorde is not the most obviously decorated métro station, but I think it's amazing how much work must have gone into designing the tiles so they all fit together.

Louvre-Rivoli (line 1)- This was the first station decorated in a theme. The decoration includes replicas of ancient art from the Louvre- a museum which can be accessed directly from the métro station.

And finally, Pont-Neuf (line 7)- This station is close to the "Monnaie de Paris", and so the platforms have been decorated with large coins "falling" from the ceiling.

 There are a lot more specially decorated stations, although these are definitely my favourite (especially Arts et Métiers). Please feel free to comment with your favourite!

Thanks for reading!

Caitlin

P.S. In case anyone was wondering, me and Emily found our way in the end, and had a very enjoyable four days in Paris! Oh, and also, the title of this post is a saying in France literally translating as "métro, work, sleep", the English equivalent probably being "work, work, work", basically saying that your life revolves around work.

Film Review #2- Potiche

Yesterday, I went to see the French film "Potiche" with my mum. The film is set in the 70's, and is about "une potiche" (a "trophy wife"), Suzanne Pujol (Catherine Deneuve), who takes over her husband's umbrella company after he has a heart attack. Mme Pujol turns the company around during her time in charge- her kindhearted way of dealing with the workers' problems is a welcome change to her husband's unsympathetic manner.

I was really excited to see this film, after watching a trailer for it last week. I have to say, it didn't quite live up to how amazing I thought it would be, perhaps because I had such high expectations. However, I did enjoy it a lot.

One of my favourite things about the film was how it was bright, happy, and rather hilarious (in an almost "Carry On" way) in parts; yet the message or meaning of it was more serious.

Essentially, the film is about women's changing roles at the time it is set. As Mme Pujol tells her daughter Joelle in one scene, having an abortion had recently become legal, and more and more women were starting to go to work. In some ways, this is portrayed in the bright colour scheme of the film- in my opinion, conveying the excitement of a changing world.

I also loved the flashbacks in the film. They were cleverly done, with the "present day" characters talking over scenes from the past. And they all involve the same cheeky humour as the rest of the film.

The only thing that I disliked about the film was the ending. It seemed to trail off a little, not so that questions were left unanswered, but I felt as if it was needing a little more. I can't say anymore without giving away the entire plot, but let me know if you felt the same.

Overall, I'd rate this fim:
★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Thanks for reading! Please comment! :)
Caitlin

P.S. I read a very interesting article from the Guardian website comparing Mme Pujol to Mrs Thatcher and Carla Bruni, and I'm thinking of looking further into this. Here's the article.

Catherine Deneuve on Woman's Hour, and the IMF Scandal

Last Thursday, the French actress Catherine Deneuve was interviewed for Woman's Hour on BBC Radio 4. I'm going to see her new film "Potiche" next Monday with my mum, so I thought I'd listen to the interview. The film is about a "trophy" wife, who becomes a successful businesswoman when forced to take over the family business after her husband falls ill.

Here's the interview

What I found particularly interesting in the interview was her reaction to the IMF scandal (Dominique Srauss-Kahn, the managing director of IMF was arrested in New York after he allegedly sexually assaulted a maid in his hotel). From what I've read, the reaction to this scandal in France is very different to the reaction in America.

I watched a few videos about the scandal, and I found this one particularly interesting.

Let me know your opinions!

From
Caitlin

Ben L'Oncle Soul

Last Wednesday, my school's current French assistant introduced me to the French artist Ben L'Oncle Soul. He reminded me a little of Bruno Mars.



I am a particular fan of his cover of "Severn Nation Army" by The White Stripes- I thought he put a really interesting new spin on it.

What do you think? I personally love listening to songs in different languages, French in particular (especially this type of song- French flows so nicely and I just think it fits in with the laid-back style of music). I'd love to hear everyone's opinion :)

From

Caitlin :)

Film Review #1- Mammuth

So me and my mum just got back from the cinema after seeing the French film 'Mammuth', directed by Gustave De Kervern and Benoît Delépine. To sum it up, I'd have to say that this film was: weird, but brilliant.

The film is about recently retired Serge Pilardosse, who goes on a journey to find documents from his old places of work which he needs in order to claim his pension. I have to admit, this does sound incredibly boring at first, but it's so much more emotional than it would appear.

There's no way you could say what genre this film was. There's a bit of everything in there- it can be funny, sad, romantic, uplifting, almost scary, and at times, just really, really odd. 

One of the things I enjoyed about it was the fact that the characters in the film included a ghost of Serge's ex-girlfriend, who seems to go with him on his journey. Despite being covered in blood, she's not at all scary (a good thing for me, seeing as I hate horror films). What was more unsettling was Serge's neice, 'Miss Ming', who created strange sculptures out of plastic dolls and stuffed toys.

Despite this, however, I don't think you could call this a scary film. Serge's wife, Catherine, has a particularly funny role- one of my favourite scenes was one in which she is faced with the task of spelling out her surname to a computerised voice over the phone. You can imagine what this scene contains, but the predictability doesn't make it any less hilarious.

The film itself was made very well. There were parts which were filmed in the style of an old home video, all grainy and yellow-ish, with the picture shaking as if the camera is being held by a hand. I think it brought the audience closer to the character; it made the film feel more personal and almost nostalgic. I loved it!

What added to this was the scenes in which noises or conversations from the past were played over a scene in the present, for example, when Serge visits an empty restaurant that he once worked at and hears the noises that could have been heard when the restaurant was still open.

The character Serge was played by Gérard Depardieu, and this part really showed off his acting abilities. Do I really need to say this, though? Being a big fan of "Jean de Florette", I have always like him, and have always thought he is a wonderful actor, and I'm sure there's not many people who would disagree.

So, overall, a great film, see it if you can. A word of warning, though, I wouldn't advise going to see this with anyone elderly, or your parents, or anyone who is disgusted by rather large, rather old, naked men (and that's not the worst of it).

But anyway, I think this film deserves:
★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Au revoir for now,
Caitlin

Welcome to The French Project

I was originally going to call this blog 'Croissants and Frog's Legs'. What put me off was the fact that they are, in fact, frog's thighs, and also that this isn't just a blog about French food, it's more about French culture.

My name is Caitlin and I'm 16. I have just finished my AS exams and have decided that, instead of spending another summer in which I do practically nothing, I should actually do something worthwhile this year.

I'm studying A-Level French, and I'm hoping to carry it on at university. I've come accross so many people at school who say they 'dislike' the French and France, because 'we're English- we're supposed to'. I've always wanted to prove these people wrong. I love France, I've visited it many times since I was born and I never get bored, and I don't understand how people can judge a whole country so easily and so quickly.

So, this summer's project- 'The French Project'.
I want to learn more about French culture- as much as possible- history, art, novels, films, music, food, EVERYTHING! (I do know quite a bit already, but it's not enough!)
I thought it would be a nice idea to make a blog on which I'll put reviews of films, novels, music, etc., things I've found out and my opinions on them, stuff like that.

Please feel free to comment, share your opinions, ask questions, etc. I'd love to know what you think :)

Bye for now,
Caitlin

P.S. If you're interested in craft stuff (baking, sewing, jewellery making, knitting, etc.), look at my other blog. Thanks!