We dance?

Hey Charlie! I hope you’re good!

Today I need to talk to you about an exhibition I’ve seen and that I recommend you to see as well.

It’s called “On danse ?”, and it’s at the Mucem.

I’m sure you must have heard about it already, but...

It’s an exhibition I really loved. You are actually in a very big room; and you watch a movie.

But what is interesting is that you can watch it many different ways!

Indeed, there are many different types of screens. Some are TVs, some are video projectors, others videos are projected on the ground or on paper ribbons for example.

You have many places to watch different videos, that can be very very short or a bit longer. 

They are all very interesting and it is always nice to try and analyse them.

And to watch these videos, what is nice is that you have lots of different places. You have nice seats, seesaws, carpet mountains you can go on and just lie, and other things like that. There is carpet everywhere on the ground, and it is very nice. 

It’s very clever I think, and I advise you go and see it! It ends on May, 20. But as the end of the year is close and as you have some exams if you’re in seconde or terminale, you should go now, so that you’re free then, reinsured because you have seen it!

It is a bit complicated to tell you more, because it is a very subjective exhibition.

Indeed, your appreciation of it will depend on what you feel when you look at the videos, in which position and where you are sitting.

But… it also depends a lot on the video you are watching!

You know, I stayed there for one hour I’d say and I have seen many and many videos. Hopefully, the one that was being play when I entered in the room was very nice and I really enjoyed it! And so I guess it is why I really enjoyed my experience. Other videos were very nice, but still, for some others… I liked them less. 

This is also very subjective! But I mean… If you don’t like right from the beginning, try and sit somewhere and wait until a one you like is played and you will see that you will like the exhibition!

Well… I think I’ve said everything I had to tell you Charlie!

But I’ll come back soon!

Toàn

Lady Bird

Hey Charlie !

Today I would like to talk about a movie (original, I know, but wait a sec before you start scrolling past this article) that means a lot to me and that I consider one of my all time favorites : Lady Bird.

It tells the story of a young girl called Christine "Lady Bird" McPherson, who struggles with the idea of growing up, has boy problems and a rocky relationship with her mom. It might seem like any teenage movie but unlike those the story is actually accurate and touching, not imagined by old white men who can't remember what being a teenager is like.

The character of Lady Bird is complex and thought-provocking, because she has "typical" teenager problems (boys, parents, wanting to get into a good college) but is not a stereotype, and I personally could relate to her quite a lot. She makes mistakes and takes bad decisions, but overall it feels like she is growing up and learning in front of our eyes.

As I said before, it is not like any teenage movie, and was not supposed to be a hit or a blockbuster ; the director, Greta Gerwing, was not very well known before Lady Bird and thus was supposed to be  an indie movie but it got so popular when it first came out that it won a Golden Globe for best picture and the main actress (Saoirse Ronan, who by the way is awesome) won a Golden Globe for best actress in a comedy film !

The director (Greta Gerwing) is also the writer of the script, and the story is actually partially based on her own experience as a teenager (okay so I'm not sure it was officially confirmed but there are an incredible amount of similarities between the character of Lady Bird and Gerwing's early life). And that makes the movie much more genuine and personal, to me.

But the story is not the only great thing there is : the way it is filmed is very beautiful, from the colors to the backgrounds (okay so I did not manage to find the ones I wanted, but here is an example)

So, just to recap my quite messy article (just love the movie so much, can't keep my thoughts structured) I think it draws an honest and beautiful picture of adolescence, family and growing up.

Anyway, I could write a whole essay on Lady Bird (not even kidding) but I'm going to stop here. I hope I made you want to watch it, and I definitely recommend you to do it ! Here is the trailer if you want to have a first look at how it is, exactly :

                                     

(just a quick note before I leave you alone : Timothée Chalamet is an actor in the movie, who I think some of you will recognise from Call me by your name (; ) 

See you next time,

Anna

The Best Film Ever

Hello Charlie,
recently, I realized that too many of my friends had not seen the best film ever: Inception, by Christopher Nolan.
For those who really don't know anything about the story of this beautiful masterpiece, here is a resume:
Dominique Cobb (called Dom during the film) is specialized in the extraction, stealing secrets from someone while he's asleep by going in his dreams. This rare skill has made him one of the best in corporate espionage. But besides, Dom is also an international fugitive, and this costs him to be away from his family. Dom is offered a chance to return to his children, but to do so, he must accomplish something that one could qualify of impossible: an Inception. This very hard task consists in implanting an idea in someone else's mind, by making him believe it's his. But Dom's mind conceals a very dangerous enemy.
I know that all of you now want to go and watch this film, but please stay and read my article.

So, why is this film so good? Firstly because of the talent of Christopher Nolan, and all the actors (especially Leonardo Di Caprio and Joseph Gordon-Levitt).

Indeed, the way the film is done, (in this film, I've seen some of the best scenes of the whole cinema's history, the one where Arthur is weightless in the "hotel" for example, which is my favourite scene of the film), the special effects are perfect, the scenario is complex but the film is still understandable,

One of the best scenes of the history of cinema.

the way the actors play, the music (the theme absolutely beautiful, I invite you all to listen to it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxabLA7UQ9k), all that makes that film perfect, and you can't say "I wasn't hooked by the film" or "I didn't really follow the film".
Another reason why I  completely adore this film is that everytime that I watch it, I understand something new, even though I already watched it at least 15 times.
The end of the film is also something that I very much like. I think that in this end, Christopher Nolan is Inceptioning us because after having seen this film, the only thing that you can think about is "is Dom in a dream?" (I have some theory about it, but I don't want to spoil anyone so I will not explain it here).

I really had a good time watching this film, and now that I have written this article, I want to watch it again.
I hope that you'll watch it, as well as other films of Christopher Nolan (I especially recommend you to watch "The Prestige") because he really is a very good film director.

The boat that rocked

Hello Charlie,
It's been long that I haven't written on the blog but here am I :)

So I want to talk about this film a friend suggested to me, normally it's not the type of films I Watch but I loved it .  Maybe it's because it was directed by Richard Curtis and I love love his movies ( Love Actually, About time...) or because I like comedy films but anyways the film is about a pirate radio station that was promoting Rock n roll music to the youth of the 60s in England, but the government wants to shut down the radio station.. (will they succeed ? You'll find out by yourself)
I know I didn't present the film very well ( my bad) but here's the trailer, you can watch it ;

Hope you'll want to watch the movie too ;)

Beverly

Still Alice

Dear Charlie,

as you might know the first IGCSE exam (prose, poetry and unseen) was today for us, the second. While I was stressing a lot this weekend, I decided to watch a movie to calm down a little bit and relax. The movie I chose is Still Alice made by Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland, from the book of Lisa Genova. It's a recent movie, it actually came out at the beginning of 2015. The main actress is Julianne Moore (who is one of my favourite actresses of all the time, I just find her incredible and invite you to watch the movies she is on), Alec Baldwin, Kate Bosworth and Kristen Stewart. At first I thought the casting was "okay" (except for Queen Moore!) but all the actors are very good in it!

The story is about Alice Howland, a married 50 years old mother and a linguistics teacher at Columbia University. One day, she starts to forget words and it becomes worse when she gets lost while she was running on the campus of the University. After these strange events she decides to see a doctor who makes her  passe many brain's exams and they finally diagnose her with symptoms of an early Alzheimer disease. She has to tell her family, her colleagues and all the persons she meets. She has to start living with her disease and deal with it to keep the most normal life.

It is a really beautiful movie, but also a teaching movie that helps you know/understand a lot of things about this terrible disease. Because this illness is not only about losing your memories, but losing EVERYTHING! How to write, where is a piece in your house, who are the people around you, forget to eat... Obviously it doesn't touch only the sick person, but also his/her social life and the person around him/her. We get to know more about things that aren't often the subject of a movie such as this disease, or people suffering from it (especially early diagnosed).

I do recommend it (that's why I'm writing this article!) BUT DON'T WATCH IT IF YOU DON'T FEEL VERY WELL!!! It did not relax me AT ALL  (even if it helped me get off the IGCSE exam)...


Hope you'll enjoy it ! Byyye :)

A different way to see and love life

Dear Charlie,

It's been a while since I haven't posted anything on this blog, probably because I didn't have anything interesting enough to say...

As I was sick for the last two days and then stayed at home I had plenty time to watch movies, sleep, watch TV series, sleep, eat and sleep again (and work obviously!).
When I was about to watch the 149th movie of my sickness time at home, I felt a bit bored (don't know whyyy). I then decided to read a book ! Yes, yes a real book with pages and everything ! I started reading it and just couldn't stop until I finish it.

You should ask yourself what is it called and what is it about ? Then lucky you, this is what I'm going to talk about in this article !

Speak had been written by Laurie Halse Anderson in 1998. A night the author is woken up by a young girl cry, which is in fact only a nightmare but will become the plot of her story.

The book tells the story of Melinda, a teenager who before going to high school lives or undergoes a strange event. After what she can't find her words or can't make them out exactly. She is then left alone and become a pariah. Throughout this book we can follow her battle against fear, reject, herself or her most painful memories.

It has also been made into a movie with a young Kristen Stewart as the main character, Melinda. Trailer (sorry for the bad quality) : 

I really loved this book even if first it seems mostly negative, but which in reality helps to see and love life in a different way.

I hope you will read AND enjoy it !

Bye xxx

Juliette

cinema in the tube - movies in the subway

In case you don't know what to do during the holidays, or if you want to widen your knowledge of a particular genre...
The most recent films (after 2009) are not on the map, but it's a good start nevertheless.

click here for a full-sized picture.

Groundhog Day!

Dear Charlie,
Today, February 2nd, is internationally known as Groundhog Day, the day when arrogant Pennsylvania weatherman Phil Connors (played by the great Bill Murray) is sent out to a backwater of his state, Punxsutawney, to comment on a local custom, where a cute rodent (also called Phil) tells everyone if the winter is going to be long or not. The day starts repeating itself (to the tune of Sonny & Cher's "I Got You Babe"), in the hope that Phil will start being a better person. The film is one of the best fantastic romantic comedies ever made (helped along by Andie McDowell at her finest), and the event has entered the English language, signifying events that seem to be happening again and again. I warmly recommend you to borrow this film from the Leah Lending Library. But not just yet! A friend of mine wanted to watch Groundhog Day on the day itself!

All the best,
Mr Leah

MOMMY

MOMMY
by Xavier Dolan

Cast : Antoine-Olivier Pillon as Steeve, Anne Dorval as Diane, and Suzanne Clement as Kyla.

Mommy is that kind of artistic work you can’t describe without removing the beauty and the complexity of the work.

The story takes place in 2015 in Montreal. Diane is the widow mother of Steeve. Steeve suffers from attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder, which in his case is probably due to his dad death. Diane got real trouble to raise Steeve, she receives helps from Kyla mysterious neighbor who literally lost her word. All three find a sort of therapy balance where they help unconsciously each others.  Steeve is divided between hate and love. He loves is mother in sometimes a disturbing way and he also has some excess of violence. Through his disease he is a poetic characters as Diane who is poetic through her mother status.

Xavier Dolan is kind of obsessed with the mother characters which is present in all his movies.

The film did a really good score in the box office, he also won the « prix du jury » of Cannes 2014.

 Nadja Fradkin

Unbroken - Louie Zamperini's story

Last week Loredana and I went to Pathé Madeleine after school to watch the movie made by Angelina Jolie:

UNBROKEN (Invincible in french)

This is a biopic on the athlete Louie Zamperini (1917-2014) who has been a prisoner of the japaneses during World War II.
He was an Olympic distance runner but when the war starts he had to join the army.
One day Zamperini and his crewmates had to search for a lost aircraft and crew, but their own plane crashed into the Pacific Ocean. He and two of the boys of his crew survived and stayed 47 days in the Ocean until they were found by the Japanese Navy.

Louie Zamperini's story is really moving (it actually made me cry A LOT, which I agree is not a reference) and absolutly well realized by Angelina Jolie. I also found the actors excellents !

I recommend this movie to everyone because the plot is beautiful and also very interesting (we will never have enough knowledge !!) and the movie is truly amazing !

Mr. Turner, the Fighting Temeraire Painter.

Hi Charlie !
Today I would like to tell you about a peculiar film I saw a month ago :

Mr. Turner is a biographical film about the last year of the great eponymous romantic painter.
Joseph Mallord William Turner was born in London in 1775 and died in 1851 in Chelsea. He chiefly painted landscapes and is also known for his water-coloured work. He is considered to be a preface to impressionism, but his work is still controversial and his style only started to be entirely appreciated in the early twentieth century.
The film relates his eventful last year. He lived with his father and his servant, he travelled a lot to find inspiration. But when his father died, he isolated himself, although he met Mrs Booth, and she seemed to bring him joy.

This is a very singular film, a lot of people said it was boring while going out of the cinema . Actually, this can be an effect of the staging : the film is only made of facts and the interpretation is left to the spectator. Which, in my opinion, is a risky choice but so well-thought ! This is what makes this film authentic. The actors are amazing in their roles, and you could tell that they are trying to be loyal to the characters, outside of any kind of judgement.
 So if you are looking for a funny, with an intellectual value and sometimes poetic film, I strongly recommend it to you.

Agathe M.

Shame!

Dear Charlie,
Here's an interesting follow-up to Salomé's article about "Pride". Apparently, American marketing companies have problems with the gay content of the film. Or they think the public can't handle the subject matter! Quite incredible! Here you can play "spot the difference" between the proposed American poster and the original.
Mr Leah

http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-30679455