Paris, J'taime

I am wicked excited to take part in the Paris in July challenge, hosted by fantastic bloggers Thyme for Tea and BookBath!  Please jump onto their fabulous sites to follow along as they are the experienced Parisian fans who have actually been to Paris!  Yes, I'm sidetracking a tad from my goal to read books set in Florida to prep for my upcoming vacation to Key West, but it's Paris, for cryin' out loud!  PARIS!  I can pretend that I'm in Paris for a bit, right?!  And, I think you'll see at the end of this post, that I can sort of combine Paris and Key West.  Sort of...!

I grew up overseas in Greece, Philippines, and Venezuela, and have visited Rome twice (once as a kid, and again last year for my honeymoon), but I've never been to Paris -- but I would love to!  I love the idea of this goal for July simply because who doesn't like some form of French culture?  Whether it's the food, the films, the novels, the poetry, the architecture and design of Parisian homes, buildings...ahhh, il en sera ainsi beacoup de plaisir...  Okay, I have NO idea if the Google translate feature worked effectively to translate my English of "it will be so much fun!"  But, you get the gist of it!

I watched Paris, J'taime this weekend, and I was a tad nervous initially.  It's been a while since I've watched a foreign film (coupla years), so I wasn't sure if I would fall back into the ease of subtitles, etc.  But there wasn't one moment of concern at all -- released in 2007 by First Look Studios, the movie was split with 20 different directors who shot a short film of about 5 minutes, that visualized the many intricacies and delights and love of Paris.  Whether it was the experience of an American tourist in the Paris subways, or the crush of an actress on a drug dealer, or the flirtations of a young Parisian man and an Islamic woman, it covered all areas of love, angst, death, and leaves you wanting to know more of each of the stories.  Probably that's when a film is really at its best, right?  When it's a short snapshot of a moment in Paris life, but leaves you wanting more...  I really enjoyed the film, and the 20 directors and myriad actors that participated.  The directors ranged from Gus Van Sant, the Coen Brothers, Alfonso Cuaròn, Wes Craven (Wes Craven??  Huh??  That was a surprise!), to the ensemble cast which included Juliette Binoche to Maggie Gyllenhal, it was a treat.  What a fun project!  I sometimes think of how fun it would have been to be part of the film world, working on ideas, coordinating the projects...sigh, but to dream, and to dream in Paris...

And, how is it possible, you ask, to combine both goals of getting ready for Key West and celebrating Paris?  Why, it actually is possible!  Sort of!  If you've seen my prior posts on getting ready for the Hemingway Days in Key West, then you know that it makes sense that I can cover both goals of Paris and Key West by reading...  Ernest Hemingway's A Moveable Feast, which is set in Paris!  See!  It can be done!  I'm going back to Thyme for Tea and BookBath now, see you in a bit...