Posted 9:50 AM by Blah blah

French Films

I am really into French movies recently.

Just saw The Girl on the Bridge (La Fille sur le pont), 1999, with Daniel Auteuil and Vanessa Paradis.

Shot in black and white, this movie is stunningly beautiful. It's subtly erotic. A young woman who's about to kill herself is convinced by a man to join him as his assistant. He works as a knife thrower.

Poetic, complex, highly moving. This is one of the most perfect movies I have seen.

Daniel Auteuil is one of the most popular actors in France. I saw him in the comedy Le Placard (The Closet) and he was hilarious. Vanessa Paradis first became a pop singer at age 14, before branching into acting. She is like a sexier Audrey Hepburn. She's also the woman in Johnny Depp's life.

I like that the French movies I've seen (like the excellent Cyrano de Bergerac 1990) are more subtle, more intelligent than typical American ones. I like that they are more articulate, with lots of talking and longer takes than typical American fare, which assumes an MTV attention span. I like how they are more subtle sexually, which makes them more erotic and romantic.