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- “All my work is about uncovering, especially uncovering of voices that speak without governance, or that speak without being heard.” — Seamus Deane
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- How it’s going
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- “Since we do float on an unknown sea I think we should examine the other floating things that come our way very carefully.” — poet Elizabeth Bishop
- “The only people who ever called me a rebel were people who wanted me to do what they wanted.” — Nick Nolte
- Reviews: Suze (2025)
- “Make them laugh, make them cry, make them wait.” — Charles Dickens
- “For I, the chiefest lamp of all the earth…” — Christopher Marlowe, Tamburlaine
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Tag Archives: France
July 2024 Viewing Diary
Anyone But You (2023; d. Will Gluck) The fascination with Glen Powell continues. I’ve seen this maybe four times now? The NY Times did a whole ROUNDTABLE about Glen Powell, like: what is going on with this guy? It’s like … Continue reading
Posted in Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies, Television
Tagged action movies, Ben Gazzara, coming of age, documentary, drama, England, France, Gena Rowlands, Glen Powell, historical drama, horror, Ireland, Italy, Joan Blondell, John Cassavetes, Mary Shelley, Opening Night, romantic comedy, sci-fi
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June 2024 Viewing Diary
Sunset Boulevard (1950; d. Billy Wilder) I had so much fun discussing Sunset Boulevard with the audience after the screening at Jacob Burns Film Center. I’ll be doing another one in August, after Billy Wilder’s The Apartment. The audience was … Continue reading
Posted in Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies, Television
Tagged action movies, Billy Wilder, comedy, film noir, France, Glen Powell, Gloria Swanson, Meryl Streep, New Zealand, Richard Linklater, romantic comedy, romantic drama, short films, Steven Spielberg, Sunset Boulevard, Thomas J. Wright, Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks, war movies, William Holden, women directors
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“But man has always succeeded in rising again.” — Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Today is the birthday of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Here is an extraordinary excerpt from Wind, Sand and Stars – a book I last read in high school, when I was in my Richard Bach-airplane-writing-soulmate-search phase. Listen to this prose. And … Continue reading
Review: Just the Two of Us (2024)
Virginie Efira is a new fave. Revoir Paris, which I put top of the list of my watches last year, was what really got me on board, but when I backtracked I was like, “Oh. Okay. Wow. She’s been crushing … Continue reading
“In my films I always wanted to make people see deeply. I don’t want to show things, but to give people the desire to see.” — Agnès Varda
It’s the birthday of Belgian filmmaker Agnès Varda, a pioneering force in the development of the French New Wave – she was French New Wave before it was even named “French New Wave.” When she died at the age of … Continue reading
Posted in Directors, Movies, On This Day
Tagged Agnes Varda, Belgium, France, Sandrine Bonnaire, women directors
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Review: Jeanne du Barry (2024)
A sweeping historical drama about the controversial mistress of King Louis XV, Madame du Barry. I reviewed for Ebert.
Posted in Movies
Tagged France, historical drama, Johnny Depp, reviews, women directors
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“I prefer a national film to an international film.” — Jean-Paul Belmondo
It’s his birthday today. I wrote about him on my Substack. Thank you so much for stopping by. If you like what I do, and if you feel inclined to support my work, here’s a link to my … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Movies, On This Day
Tagged France, Jean-Luc Godard, Jean-Paul Belmondo, newsletter
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“The Greeks already understood that there was more interest in portraying an unusual character than a usual character – that is the purpose of films and theatre.” — Isabelle Huppert
It’s her birthday today. Nobody like her. She’s almost in her own category. Her work is mysterious. It feels like she gives the wheel over totally to her subconscious. You never feel the puppet-strings of the actress. She never even … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Movies, On This Day
Tagged Claude Chabrol, France, Isabelle Huppert, Mia Hansen-Løve, Paul Verhoeven, Sandrine Bonnaire
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“I couldn’t keep a dog and a James Joyce and a bookshop.” — Sylvia Beach
It’s her birthday today. Sylvia Beach is one of my heroes due to her influential bookshop in Paris (Shakespeare & Co.), and her nurturing of the writers of that time. You know, minor writers like James Joyce, Ernest Hemingway, and … Continue reading