We had visitors from Paris and of course we had to drink a wine from our family or rather the family of Aurore and notably cousin Hervé: Château Villemaurine. Some pictures displaying the snacks and 'Paté de Pâques', a speciality à la Berrichon, that I ate for the first time in Stockholm a couple of years ago, made by Aurore.
Le Printemps de Bourges has become an institution in this part of France, or should I say in the rest of France and many parts of the world too, having become an internationally well known music event.
It started in 1977 and the 'official founders' of this festival was Alain Meilland, singer, comedian, 'metteur en scène'; Maurice Frot, writer and Daniel Colling, entrepreneur. The festival invites both well known French and international artists as well as 'rising stars' from all over the world. 80 different 'spectacles' with around 200 artists makes this event something very special, not least since there are artists not only on the official stages but all over town, in almost every corner. In the beginning - as well as know - one also invited (and invites) artists not always being in the absolute spotlight, in spite of being good performers with interesting artistical qualities. Below some photos from this years festival (sorry for the not so high quality, taken with our iPhone), the first I attend, even though I've been in Bourges before. Aurore visited the festival for the third time this year. I very much liked the atmosphere, a warm and friendly dito, in spite of thousands of visitors (240 000 during the five days the festival lasted)!
This is a film that could be said trying to make us understand that we should not treat people with memory disorder (Alzheimer or dementia of any kind), as being 'Gone With The Wind' mentally but in fact having other gifts even when it comes to their memory. Even a demented can be right, a truism needed being repeated.
Conrad Lang (Gérard Depardieu) superficially seems to 'parasitize' on the rich family Senn, first as a childhood pal to Thomas (Niels Arestrup) the father in the family, later as their housekeeper and 'factotum'. On the same time the family use his kindness in order to take advantage of him, not least as he seems to be content with very little. Conrad's health and mental status is gradually degrading but when meeting Simone (Alexandra Maria Lara), the young woman who is going to marry the son in the family, a friendship develops between the two. During this friendship old memories pop up in the mind of Conrad, disturbing the 'official story' around him and the Senn family, making Simone wanting to dig deeper into the secrets of the family and Conrads role in all this. What she finds is very ugly and the up on the top-beginning of the film, quickly dips into the hidden cruelties around the dirty 'backdrop' behind the beautiful facade.
The story is however told in a very untroubled way, not making it into the disturbing - and more interesting - film experiences of, let's say 'Festen' by Vinterberg. The acting is superb and not least Gérard Depardieu who with a lot of warmth and compassion portrays the, almost, 'legally incompetent' Conrad, a man to nice for this world.
In our box with less known (I say from my horizon) films by The Marx Brothers we consecrated this evening to 'Animal Crackers'.
In this film we find the three brothers being Captain Jeffrey T. Spalding, an 'African explorer' (Groucho); 'The Professor' (Harpo) and 'Signor Ravelli' (Chico). At a party where the explorer is invited, a famous painting is stolen and a couple of people want to replace it by copies, one made by one of the guests, the other by another. An 'investigation' takes place and of course it's the brothers who are in charge - or rather not in charge at all!
The mix of musical and 'talkie' is somewhat annoying as I can't see the point of having music in this film, the way it's done. Not only to 'show off' as the brothers always do, but also in order to move the story ahead. It doesn't work out well. I don't know if it's the fact that these films are less known and not as good as 'the classics' ('A Day at the Races'; 'A Night at the Opera') or that they have aged in a bad way, but I don't reexperience the 'laughing paroxysm' I remember being subject to when seeing these films as a young man. The part I remember best in this film - and that's a bit strange - is the song 'Hooray for Captain Spaulding'! Maybe because it later on became a theme song for the Marx Brothers. If you don't want to see the whole film (above), you can take a look at the excerpt below:
This is a film my wife bought as a DVD at the supermarket Carrefour in La Châtre. "If you haven't seen it, you have to, it's a 'classic''". As I wouldn't question my wife's judgement, I took her advice.
Well, I have seen many song- and dance films with different artists but singing and dancing cockroaches must be the first time, even though 'insects' in films appeared early through not least the cinematographer Ladislav Starevicz (Władysław Starewicz) and his films made during the early 1900's (in English): 'The Revenge of a Kinematograph Cameraman'; 'The Insects Christmas'; 'The Ant and the Grasshopper' among others.
In this 'insect-film' we get to meet a young man - Joe (Jerry O'Connell) - who arrives to New York for the first time. Being somewhat naïve, he is robbed at least three times during the first ten meters of walk from the bus he came with. All his money disappears and now he quickly have to find a job and somewhere to live. Through a 'friend' and his advices and two musclemen scaring people away from a house, he happens to be the 'owner' of an apartment, filled with dirt, garbage and cockroaches! After a while he get to know that the house is going to be demolished in order to make room for a giant prison. The man behind this project is a senator by the name of Doughterty (Robert Vaughn) and the musclemen is hired by him, now targeting our Mr Nice Guy. Luckily for him, he's got his cockroaches, a friendship that didn't start off to well but gradually developed - like his relationship with the 'green finger'-daughter of the senator, Lily (Megan Ward).
Of course everything ends well and if this is a film made in order to improve the reputation and create understanding for the cockroaches in the world, I think it succeeded. Who can resist dancing and singing cockroaches? I can't!
Johannes ate (as we could see in yesterdays blog) his breakfast with us and after this we went on a stroll around the city. As he had seen that the well known 'vielle'-designer Bernard Kerboeuf lived in La Châtre ("Does HE live hear!!!") we toke him to his house and knocked on the door. Monsieur Kerboueuf opened the door and asked us in. This was a great moment for Johannes and in the photos below we see him together with monsieur Kerboeuf, looking at and trying a 'hurdy gurdy', playing some tunes on it. The conversation between the two was held in French and 'Fredish'.
Kerboeuf: "Here you can see some of the instruments I've created and repaired" Johannes: "Wow...!"
Kerboeuf: "Do you want to try one of them?"
Johannes: "Wow (for at least the second time), can I really do that?!" Kerboeuf: "Of course, I'll help you...!"
Kerboeuf: "That's it and now you see the buttons here... You use them like this..." Johannes: "Ok, a little bit different from the ones I'm used to"
Kerboeuf:
"And now You try to play!" Johannes: "I have to adjust this button and this..." Kerboeuf: "That's it!"
Unfortunately everything has an end and we had to say goodbye to monsieur Kerboeuf, walking back to my mother-in-law, putting the bags of Johannes in to the car and head towards Châteauroux.
This is on the station just before the train arrives.
Now we know that Johannes - after having finished his concerts and recordings with his group Garizim - will return this summer for Rencontres Internationales des Luthiers et Maîtres Sonneurs... (to be continued).
We had the pleasure being visited by Johannes Geworkian Hellman, our 'hurdy gurdy' ('vielle'/'vevlira')-playing friend from Sweden (the 14th and 15th of April). My mother-in-law and I met him at Châteauroux train station at 6 pm and from their we drove him to La Châtre, passing by Maison de George Sand à Nohant and Château d'Ars. The latter not least interesting since Johannes for a long time has nourished a dream to visit Rencontres Internationales des Luthiers et Maîtres Sonneurs, the last three years being held in Château d'Ars, earlier St Chartier. When coming to La Châtre we helped Johannes install himself in one of my mother-in-laws chambre d'hôtes (B&B:s) and thereafter we guided him very quickly throw the town, ending the day by dining at the restaurant L'Estaminet. When entering the restaurant, our family doctor (Aurore's and mine) was there with his Swedish wife and friends. This was probably the first time that L'Estaminet was visited by three Swedes at the same time, including a fluently Swedish-speaking French woman (Aurore) and a not so fluently Swedish-speaking French man (our doctor). "This is not good for our statistics!" the owners said, jokingly. Our doctor treated us the apèritif, kindly enough! A nice evening before we went home to us, Aurore and I and Johannes to his apartment. Above we can see the interior of L'Estaminet and below, Johannes the day after when eating his breakfast with us. To be continued...
(Photo L'Estaminet taken from: http://tellmewhere.us/media/f/83AC4044-CAA4-4F9E-BB14-67EA69F721E0.jpeg)
Thanks ot our nice and considerate cinéma projectionist, Didier Godier, we were given the possibility watching 'Zéro de conduite' with the subtitle 'Jeunes diables au collège' ('Zéro in conduct', - Young Devils at college', freely translated). Director: Jean Vigo.
This was at the time - 1933 - a very controversial film for many reasons.
It's at story about a group of young students returning to boarding school after the summer holidays, without joy or enthusiasm, not least because they are met by teachers who limit their liberty, penalising them for each and every path they take, being judged as 'going astray'. The title refers of course to the grade some of them are being 'rewarded' after having infringed some - or many - of the rules at school. Only one teacher looks upon them in a more understanding way, not being as strict himself in his teaching and practice. A revolt is being planned and executed during a school celebration with different dignitaries being present, finally liberating not least the four principal 'rioters'. Not only are the young students using 'foul language' but the film also depicts homosexuality (between two of the boys, one being very 'girlish') and pedophilia (one of the teachers also being interested in the same boy), all this leading to that the film was banned until 1946(!) in France. The story is however very modern and the film have been very influential not only in the world of film making but in the shaping of societal norms, or perhaps the violation of traditional norms and ideas.
Vigo uses an interesting film language and cutting technique, also making this film a visually intersting piece of work.
A charming, not to pretentious, story about a wealthy and very conservative, 'keeping-up-the-good-image' family - Jean-Louis Joubert (Fabrice Luchini) and Suzanne Joubert (Sandrine Kiberlain) - during the 1960's who employs a Spanish housekeeper - Maria (Natalia Verbeke) - at the time obviously 'à la mode' in Paris.
Peu à peu, the strict and correct 'facade' rifts and the husband in the family finds the more lively and positive Spanish women (a handfull is working in the same building) more interesting than his own family. Not least their life-stories during the reign of Franco, bluntly told by one of them, being a convinced communist and at first very negative towards 'le patron'. Jean-Louis' teenage sons are two very spoiled brats, more conservative than their father, but not being able to dictate the terms for Maria. They initially find this arrangement totally unacceptable. When the father leaves the apartment and moves in at the top of the building where the housekeepers have their rooms, the sons go nuts but in order to talk to their father they condescend themselves to climb the stairs, trying to reason their 'old man'. They don't succeed. Finally the obvious happens: Monsieur falls in love with Maria and the traditional 'crossroad-dilemma' installs itself.
The story might seem trivial and it is but it's told with both humour and warmth, making it a rather delightful 'feel-good'-film for all ages, even if it tends to fall into the 'syrup'-trap from time to time.
The actors are very good though and this might have saved the story to some degree.
Kristian Petri, the director of 'Bad Faith', is a very interesting director, not least when it comes to documentaries. He has also directed some episodes of one of the most popular tv-series in Sweden, 'Skärgårdsdoktorn'. I very much appreciate his documentaries like 'Brunnen', about Orson Welles and Welles' 'relationship' with and profound foundness of Spain or Petri's film 'Detaljer' ('Details').
In this film, however, we again ('again' as it seems to be a recurrent theme in Swedish film these last few years), meet a cowardly, cynic and frightened human being, afraid of being involved in something that might "disturb her circles". I would say a Swedish trait but perhaps universal? The main character, Mona (Sonja Richter), witness a bestialic murder, approaches the victim but leaves him to die, instead of trying to help. Similar situations emerge and she reacts in the same way. After being interrogated by the police - who suspect her of being involved or at least find the fact that she appears in connection to these murders somewhat strange - experiencing that they don't believer her, she decides do reveal the murderer herself. In fact she does not only aim at revealing the murderer but she becomes obsessed by him, being less interested in saving lives and more interested in the psychological circumstances behind his behaviour, driven by the tickeling feeling accompanying her 'private investigation'.
To many obviously planted details and coincidences making her look suspect, render this film an aura of being to carefully prepared, at the same time making the outcome to predictable, as the real murderer turns out to be someone else than her 'object of study'. The predictability in connection with the obsessed and, to a certain degree, unbelievable behaviour displayed by the colorless female main character, with a plot on the boundary between fiction, verity and dream makes it a less interesting oeuvre than the above mentioned films by Petri.
Today we ate with my parents-in-law and our friend Alain at Restaurant du Château, Sarzay. In the photo we can see the castle and we have eaten at the neighbouring restaurant (around the corner) several times - the first time at the after-celebration in connection with our wedding - but this was, for me (Gunnar), the première at - what is called - 'The Castle restaurant'.
(Photo taken from: http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/22187693.jpg)
La Motte-Feuilly is a very small town (commune) not far from La Châtre. Only between 33 (2007) and 42 inhabitants (according to recent sources).
In spite of this one have a castle, a church, a horse riding school, a 'Mairie' and even historical connections to the mighty ruler César Borgia. Borgia married Charlotte d'Albret, 'dame de Chalus' who, as one of her marital 'gifts', got this small town given to her by Borgia. She is burried in the church where one find her effigy.
True Grit is certainly not one of the best Coen-films and it's a very conventional western in many ways, not least when it comes to the script.
A young woman - Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld) hires a US marshall - Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges) to track down the man who killed her father - Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin) - but a Texas Ranger - LaBoeuf (Matt Damon) also follows them in their quest, as the same man is wanted for a killing in Texas. Steinfelds young woman is maybe the most interesting character in the film as she - in spite of her youth and being a young woman at the time - is very independant and knows exactly what she wants and what to pay for it.
Otherwise the photo is good, sometimes quite interesting and the dialogue is very 'non-western-like', meaning that the use of swearwords or abbreviations when talking are rare, instead the language used, ressembles more a theatrical way of talking then the usual 'western'-jargon. A professionally made film as often when we talk about American productions but not at all a film that will revolutionize the style and language of film making - or westerns.
It's not a film I long to see again and neither do Aurore I think.
In this part of France, it's possible to have a pique nique even at the beginning of April, something totally unthinkable in Sweden. We are luckily in La Châtre, the center of France, not in Sweden, where one still find snow in some parts of the country.
Le Printemps de Bourges has become an institution in this part of France, or should I say in the rest of France and many parts of the world too, having become an internationally well known music event.
Kerboeuf:
Johannes:
Kerboeuf:
Kerboeuf:
Unfortunately everything has an end and we had to say goodbye to monsieur Kerboeuf, walking back to my mother-in-law, putting the bags of Johannes in to the car and head towards Châteauroux.
Now we know that Johannes - after having finished his concerts and recordings with his group Garizim - will return this summer for Rencontres Internationales des Luthiers et Maîtres Sonneurs... (to be continued).
We had the pleasure being visited by Johannes Geworkian Hellman, our 'hurdy gurdy' ('vielle'/'vevlira')-playing friend from Sweden (the 14th and 15th of April).
Today we ate with my parents-in-law and our friend Alain at Restaurant du Château, Sarzay.
La Motte-Feuilly is a very small town (commune) not far from La Châtre.
In this part of France, it's possible to have a pique nique even at the beginning of April, something totally unthinkable in Sweden.