France
Aimard, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Rattle, Royal Festival HallMonday, 11 June 2012
The repertoire of the OAE is creeping away from the 18th century and into the 20th with such unashamed eagerness, it wouldn't be at all surprising to see them throwing up an urtext edition of "Hit Me Baby One More Time" in a few seasons. Last... Read more... |
Globe to Globe: Much Ado About Nothing, Shakespeare's GlobeSunday, 03 June 2012
Productions at the life-changing Globe to Globe sequence of international takes on the Bard have had numerous points of origin, from shows conceived directly for the event to reprises of stagings that in the case of the Brazilian Romeo and Juliet... Read more... |
Cannes 2012: Heavyweights on La CroisetteWednesday, 16 May 2012
The 65th edition of the Festival de Cannes opens today, with Wes Anderson’s latest slice of leftfield whimsy, Moonrise Kingdom, and continues for almost two weeks of frantic film-going, star-spotting, wheeler-dealing and beach partying. For these... Read more... |
Jean Vigo: Celebrating the father of French New WaveTuesday, 15 May 2012
The release of Jean Vigo’s wonderful L’Atalante on DVD is cause enough to celebrate, but the arrival of everything he committed to film in one place is more than that – it commemorates this special filmmaker’s genius and humanity. Zero de Conduite... Read more... |
Season Two of Braquo released on DVDSunday, 13 May 2012The second series of Braquo, France's hyper-real, dark and violent cops gone to hell drama is issued on DVD and Blu-ray 11 June as a two-disc box set. It’s currently still being aired on TV, but for anyone who has missed out so far this is... Read more... |
Le Quai des brumesFriday, 04 May 2012
“Atmosphère…atmosphère,” the tart played by Arletty barks at her boyfriend-pimp on a canal bridge in Marcel Carné’s 1938 Hôtel du Nord. She was furious with him for wanting to go fishing for a change of ambience, but the famous line – which later... Read more... |
Angel & TonyThursday, 03 May 2012
I have no idea why the original title of this fine first feature from Frenchwoman Alix Delaporte has been changed, from Angèle and Tony to the current one. Apart from the pointlessness, it also suggests the wrong tone entirely, since Angèle is... Read more... |
Interview: 10 Questions for Clotilde HesmeWednesday, 02 May 2012
Earlier this year Clotilde Hesme won the César, France’s equivalent to the Oscars, for “most promising actress” in the excellent, atypical love story Angel & Tony. One wonders if the voters have some kind of collective myopia, or simply don’t... Read more... |
iPads and smartphones go live with hip-hop dancingMonday, 30 April 2012
A new publicly funded UK web channel for performing arts opens tomorrow morning, preparing for a major launch this weekend streaming top international streetdancers to the web audience and publishing John Peel's notes on his record collection. The... Read more... |
Braquo, FXMonday, 30 April 2012
The first series of the French cops gone-to-pot drama ended with Lieutenant Eddy Caplan about to blow the head off his nemesis Serge Lemoine. Offing him was supposed to solve all Caplan and his team’s problems. Unfortunately, Lemoine was fitted with... Read more... |
Le MoineMonday, 23 April 2012
Incest, rape, torture and matricide, as well as an obligatory spot of cross-dressing, all played their part in making Matthew Lewis’s Gothic novel The Monk the scandalous success of its day. But with such stuff the bread and butter of Hollywood’s... Read more... |
Reissue CDs Weekly: Cumbia Cumbia 1 & 2, Etienne de Crecy, The O'JaysSunday, 15 April 2012
Various: Cumbia Cumbia 1 & 2 Peter CulshawThese totally irresisitible compilations were originally issued as separate albums in 1989 and 1993, and were for many (including me) a first taste of this loping, vivacious sound, which originated... Read more... |
