Movies and a Dinner

Written before departure: 8 August 2009

The last weekend of my visit to Paris was great fun, and not so great. On Saturday, I went to La Cinémathèque Française (Musée du Cinema) to see the commemorative exhibition Jacques Tati, deux temps, trois movement (closed 2 August). When I entered the main section of the exhibition, my eyes widened and my face held a grin for nearly the entire visit. I was reacting to the bright neon color signs, open space and the many video screens set up around the room in discrete areas. Each area was devoted to a particular Jacques Tati film surrounded by additional displays (for example, objects, photographs, drawings, and letters) which illustrated something about the films or Tati. They were so engrossing that you had to wait your turn to see the videos. Yet the floor of the exhibit was not that crowded. The creative aspects of the exhibition point to the tremendous thought given by the designers and curators of the exhibition.

I have only seen one of the six films represented, Mon Oncle, but I look forward to seeing full length versions of the others. Mon Oncle was the recipient of an academy award for best foreign film in 1959 and the subject of a full-scale mock-up of the futuristic Villa Arpel featured in it at the atelier Cent Quatre (19th) (www.104.fr), which my husband and I saw last spring.


The video screens showed in a loop two-to-three minute clips from the films. The five others were Parade, Trafic, Playtime, Les Vacances de M. Hulot and Jour de Fête. Tati transforms himself into the character Monsieur Hulot. His ordinary actions going about his day -- with his nephew or at the beach -- turn into hilarious sequences. He is often compared to Buster Keaton and others. The films are the type to leave you with genuine satisfaction as it ends.

After leaving La Cinémathèque Française, I wandered through the Parc de Bercy (12th). There were areas for relaxation, an extensive rose garden, a section with rows of grape vines, some containing unripe green grapes, and an overgrown teaching garden with nearly every imaginable herb or summer flower. All a delight to see.

Later at the café/restaurant adjacent to La Cinémathèque Française, they were setting up for a lovely evening with music and drinks and people were already enjoying themselves.



I had to pull myself away in order to be on time for my dinner invitation. Dinner was an occasion for a simple home cooked meal and plenty of conversation. It was a great end to the day.





Sunday, first Sunday of the month, offered the opportunity to enter the Louvre for free -- no admission fee whatsoever. The day was not totally regrettable. After waiting in line with many, many others, there was the experience of this peculiar phenomenon-- “free”.

I regret to say that I felt the grand museum was being disrespected by many. I have never had this feeling before. Crowds! Yes (where you stand three deep to see a painting), but not the unsettling atmosphere I experienced on this day. What bothered me the most was touristic behavior brought from outside into the museum. People were posing, posturing and photographing each other in front of paintings, sculptures and objects of art. Once again, one may infrequently see this happen elsewhere. I was troubled by the great number of groups who were participating. It was unpleasant beyond any measure. Signs are clearly posted NOT to use your camera’s flash. However, I lost count of the number of times I saw a flash go off in my vicinity. I was there, as were a few others, who had come to SEE what the Louvre had to offer. Apparently extra security personnel were there to supervise the crowds, guide them in, guide them out, but did not intervene in other ways as far as I could see.

There has to be a sociological explanation for this type of behavior, but it is beyond my comprehension. I understand that it is the height of the tourist season. And my friends would have warned me, had I asked, to avoid going to any museum on a first Sunday. I should have strolled along the Paris Plage or in a park on that nice summer day. Go to the Louvre on a “first Sunday” if it’s the only day you have to visit.