If I was ever to leave Paris, the thing I think I would miss the most is the cinema. I love French films and go to the movies as often as I can. Last year I watched 53 movies. It wasn’t enough. The goal for this year is 100.
Even though I love going to the movies, I tend to forget them as soon as I walk out of the cinema. Even if it’s a great movie, I have trouble remembering the details. My brain can’t seem to retain that data. So I figured I’ll write a little review of each movie I see, just for future reference.
Le Siffleur
I like to watch previews of movies before I go and see them, just to weed out the obviously crappy ones. The bande annonce wasn’t available when I read about Le Siffleur (The Whistler) but I knew Sami Bouajila was in it and seeing as he is one of my favourite French actors of all time, I figured it would be worth watching. Wrong!
As soon as I saw the introductory credits I knew I was in trouble. Thierry Lhermitte – the worst French actor ever. Francois Berleand – not far behind. Virginie Efira – the host of La Nouvelle Star! OMG!
For starters, what was Sami Bouajila, one of the most talented actors ever, doing in this film? Talk about disappointing. I won’t go into details about the film but when I saw the weak main character (played by Francois Berleand) replaced by his strong, charming ‘twin’ brother, I knew I had to get out of there. 30 minutes was all I could stomach before walking out.
I know it’s early, but this gets my vote for the worst movie of the year.
Movie #: 1
About Andrea
OMG! You totally crack me up!! Okay, I won’t see this one! I LOVE French film, too! Esp. the classics.. but I think the reason why I don’t watch them here like I did in the U.S. is b/c I watch tv here.. and everything is in French.. So, by the time I get to see a movie… I’m dying to see one in English!! But, I do love a good French film– just not war films. If you go to see at least 100 French films this year.. I should go with you on a few occasions.. I can’t believe you saw 53 French films last year and I saw NONE! The only films in French I saw, were American ones I saw with Alex that were dubbed.. Sheesh… See ya soon!!
Leese
French TV is crap! I don’t know how you can watch it. You’ve got to stop and just go to the movies instead
I don’t just watch French films though. Last year I saw some amazing films from Chili, Mexico, Italy, and even a couple of Yankee films which weren’t half bad
I admire you for walking out. A lot of people sit through bad movies even excruciating ones because they think their cinema ticket is worth more than their time. I’ve walked out of a few turkeys myself. I regret not walking out of the Sex and the City movie though….
These days I go to the cinema fairly often to see French movies thanks to a friend of my husband’s who will see just about anything so now she calls me up and I go with her. Even if I don’t like the movie it’s educational language wise.
I have a carte UGC so don’t feel like I’m losing anything by walking out.
It’s rare for me to walk out on a movie, though. I always think it’s going to get better but it rarely does, unfortunately.
So have you seen any good movies recently?