Paris in July: Jane Austen Wrecked My Life

I have seen quite a few French movies over the last 12 months, and enjoyed most of them. If you forced me to pick my favourite it would probably be Jane Austen Wrecked My Life. I first saw it at the French Film Festival earlier this year and the went to see it again this week just because I could!

The main character, Agate, lives with her sister and nephew in Paris and works in Shakespeare and Company bookshop along with her best friend Felix. She is a massive Jane Austen fan and can find a JA recommendation for any occasion. Agate is also a writer, albeit one with writers block. She has ideas for stories but she can't ever get past the beginning to get to the middle or the end. 

One day Felix reads the first couple of chapters of her latest story and thinks it is so good he sends it off as an application for Agate to attend the Jane Austen Residency Writers Retreat in England. The first Agate knows of it is when she receives the acceptance, which of course she initially refuses. Agate has quite a few anxieties, often for good reason, like not liking travelling in cars, and she hasn't had a sexual relationship for years.

Agate and Felix's relationship has always been platonic. She knows all his bad habits with women, but just before she gets on the ferry to go to England, they kiss. When she arrives on the other side of the channel, she is met by Oliver who just happens to be Jane Austen's handsome great-great-great-great nephew (I might have the wrong number of great's there but you get the idea!). However, Agate and Oliver get off on the wrong foot when Oliver makes it very clear that he thinks Jane Austen is overrated! 

At the retreat Agate and all the attending writers are encouraged to take inspiration however they can, whether it be wandering the gardens, or writing in the library. One of the main events of the retreat is that they all get to go to a ball dressed in era appropriate clothes. Initially the group are very much set in their individual ways, but gradually some of them begin to build connections. Can Agate find a way to break through her writers block and finally complete a story? And can she let down some of the walls she has built around herself? 

Along the way, there are a few unfortunate and funny incidents along with some great scenes talking about books and reading, a bit of a love triangle which ultimately is a nice romance, and it does show that the influence of Jane Austen is felt across the centuries and the world. 

The story is told in a mixture of both French and English. I thought it was a really lovely romantic comedy. Here's the trailer:

Paris in July: Mini movie reviews

Yesterday I shared a list of most of the French-ish things that I have done over the last 11 months. On the list were a number of movies which were either set in Paris or are French films. I shared links to a couple of them, and I thought I would share several mini reviews for some of the others. Shout out to Erin from Still Life, with Cracker Crumb and Lisa from Boondock Ramblings who hosted the Springtime in Paris movie event earlier this year which encouraged me to watch several of these movies.  

I do plan to write a couple of full reviews for some of the other movies but let's see how we go.

How To Steal a Million

What a fun movie! It starred the beautiful and ethereal Audrey Hepburn and Peter O'Toole, who was very handsome as a young man.  The premise is that Audrey Hepburn's father is a serial art forger. He agrees to hand over a famous statue to display in a museum without realising that he has agreed to have the piece authenticated. If it is tested, then it will be revealed as a fake then he will be found out. Hepburn's character then enlists the help of a man she caught stealing a painting from her own house (or so she thought) and hijinks ensue. The movie had such charm and naivety. I couldn't help but think if the movie was made today how very different it would be! 

Paris Blues

Paris Blues stars Paul Newman, Sidney Poitier, Joanne Woodward and Diahann Caroll, with a guest appearance by the great Louis Armstrong. The story is about two American musicians who live in Paris. They meet two American women who have come to Paris on holidays and they quickly fall in love. I hadn't heard a lot about this movie but I did enjoy it for a number of reasons. Firstly, Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward were married in real life so it was fun seeing them together on screen. Secondly, it was interesting to see the way that the race question was addressed in this movie. If you had of asked me to name a movie which starred Sidney Poitier which addressed issues relating to race I would have said Guess Who's Coming to Dinner or To Sir With Love. This movie looked at how different the experience was for Poitier's character living as an African American in Paris compared to what it would have been in America at the time. Another point of interest for me was seeing Paris itself. Yes, there was glamourous side of Paris, but this movie was made in 1961 and there were evident signs of the destruction of Paris during WWII. For example, there was a scene where they visit what looks like a market, and the market is set up amongst some runs. 

Hugo

Hugo was a more recent movie (made in 2011) but set in the 1930s. It surprised me that this movie was made by Martin Scorcese. I always associate his name with more violent movies but this was a very sweet movie which was based on the book The Invention of Hugo Cabaret by Brian Selznick.

In this movie orphaned boy Hugo lives in a train station in Paris, keeping the clocks wound up as he was taught to do by his uncle before he disappeared. He is trying to fix an automoton that his father had found at a museum, in the hope that he would get one final message from his dad. In order to survive and get the parts that he needs he steals from various stores in the train station, which brings him to the attention of the station policeman. If I had one criticism it is about the police man, but otherwise it is a great cast that brings a lovely story to life.

There were so many layers to this movie, which at its core is about the power of imagination and in particular the magic of movies. 

The Intouchables

The Intouchables is about a young unemployed man named Driss who just needs someone to sign his paper to say that he attended for a job interview and was unsuccessful so he can get his unemployment benefit. The job is to look after a man named Philippe who is a quadriplegic. No one is more surprised than Driss is when he is offered a trial period. Philippe is an aristocrat who lives in an amazing house in Paris, Driss grew up in the projects. Philippe loves classical music and expensive art. Driss grew up living off his wits and getting by however he could. What sets Driss apart from everyone else is that he doesn't see Philippe as just a quadriplegic man, he sees him as a man. A man who used to love extreme sports, a man who now has an accessible van to move around in but has a very expensive, fast car just sitting in the driveway.

The movie is a touching look at care and compassion and about seeing the best in each other, and it is even more touching given that it is based on a true story I am so pleased to have watched it now. 

Omar Sy is excellent as Driss!

Here's the trailer

Siddonie in Japan

Siddonie in Japan is a very quiet movie about an author who goes on a book tour to Japan. However, the ghost of her husband starts to appear to her as she begins to have feelings for her publisher. She visits some of the same places we went to in Japan. Only difference....there were no crowds! Here's the trailer

Have you seen any of these movies?

This Week..

I'm reading

We are back from holidays! We thoroughly enjoyed our time in Japan and South Korea. We are already talking about when we will go to Japan again! One thing that was surprising was how much reading time I had! I think it is because there was no TV to watch on the ship, and I wasn't playing any games  or doom scrolling on my phone due to limited internet. I also had pre- written all the blog posts for the time I was away so no blogging required either! I normally wouldn't read too much while on holidays but this time I finished 10 books! I am not going to list them all here as I am planning to share them in next week's Top Ten Tuesday post. I also now have a ton of reviews to write as I used this time to get a little bit ahead on review books, but also read a few books just for fun!

What I will talk about is what I have been reading since I got home.

A book that I started on the plane but finished yesterday is Secrets Beneath a Riviera Sky by Jennifer Bohnet. This is a book that I will be reviewing in a couple of weeks time.

Another book with a review due in a couple of weeks time is The Best Days of Our Lives by Helen Rolfe. I loved her Skylarks books set in an air ambulance unit, and was hoping for more, but this is not connected to that series at all!

This morning I started reading Pictures of You by Australian author Emma Grey. I could say I started this on a whim, but the reality is that the library wants its book back, and I don't really want to return it unread, so binge read here I come!

March was a really good month for me. I finished 17 books which is probably the highest I have had in quite some time. I know that I am not going to maintain that pace going forward though. Of the books I read in March, I gave two of them 5 stars (The Jam Maker and The Winter Sea), and another five books rating 4.5/5! Here they are:

I just wanted to mention the passing of Kerry Greenwood. She was the author of the Phryne Fisher and Corinna Chapman series, and lived a very colourful life. It has been a number of years since I read any of her books, but I think I will pick one up when I go to the library!

I'm watching


I didn't watch anything on the plane on the way to Japan, but on the way home I watched Wicked. I saw it in the cinemas when it came out, but I had forgotten how long the movie is! It was a delight to watch it again though.

The French Film Festival finished yesterday and because I was away for most of it, I didn't get to see all the films that I wanted to see. I was therefore delighted to see that a couple of them were available on the plane. I chose to watch The Marching Band! It was such a good film, although I do seem to have the knack of picking films to watch on a plane that will make me cry! 

Here's the trailer

Speaking of films set in France, kind of, Erin from Still Life, with Cracker Crumb and Lisa from Boondock Ramblings are hosting a Springtime in Paris movie event. The idea is that each week we watch a film and then share our thoughts. The schedule is below.

I did come home from holidays with a bit of a head cold, so sitting down and watching Mrs Harris Goes to Paris was the perfect way to spend Sunday afternoon. It is a movie that I have watched numerous times, and I have listened to the audiobook! I shared my thoughts about the book and the movie a couple of years ago during Paris in July which you can find here.

We also started watching Amanda and Alan's Spanish Job. We loved the two series set in Italy so we were always going to watch, and it is interesting to see the Spanish culture and food.


Life

I am hoping to have big news next week! Let's just say I had to do some job interviews via Teams whilst I was on the cruise, which is a bit odd! I am crossing everything for one of the roles in particular. 

In big news, I bought a new fragrance while we were away. I am one of those people who tends to wear the same fragrance for years until they stop making it, and then it takes me an age to find another one that I like. And then I wear that until they stop making it! Over and over. I also got a sample bottle of another one so now I have three choices every morning!



Max

As seems to be normal with Max he needed to go to the vet while we were away as he had some sores suddenly appear on his belly. He's good in himself, so nothing to worry about but we do need to get his medical conditions under control which I suspect means a change of medication. 

I think he is glad we are home though. He has barely left our sides in the last couple of days. This is a live action shot from a minute ago.

Posts from the last week

Historical Fiction Reading Challenge - April links

Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Degrees of Separation

Sunbirds by Mirandi Riwoe

Weekend Cooking: In My Kitchen - March

Six Degrees of Separation: Knife to Here Be Dragons


I've linked this post to It's Monday, what are you reading? as hosted by Book Date and Sunday Salon hosted at Readerbuzz

This week...

 

I'm reading

We have a public holiday here today for Labour Day so, in theory, that means more reading time! Well, not really, as I do have quite a bit of reading time already. 

Last week I finished listening to The Truth by Terry Pratchett. I originally started listening to this back in January, but then I put it aside to listen to Jane Austen. I do intend to write something about this, but I will say here that my favourite character was Otto the vampire iconographer who had a terrible tendency to disintegrate every time he took a photo with a flash! 

I have now gone back to listening to Atlas: The Story of Pa Salt by Lucinda Riley. This is a long book so I will probably be listening to this for a couple of months at least. 

I finished reading If You Could See Me Now by Samantha Tonge. I really like Samantha Tonge's books but they are a bit tricky to review because there are things that you definitely need to not know when you are starting the book. My review is here. 

I also read and reviewed The Jam Maker by Mary-Lou Stephens, which I really loved! I had been to see the author talk a few weeks ago. I really think going to author events really enhances the reading experience! This was a 5/5 read for me!

For a bit of a change of pace, I also devoured Out on a Limb by Hannah Bonam-Young. I had read a couple of chapters a couple of weeks ago, but this week I picked it up and started again and devoured it! This was my first book by her, but it will not be the last! I thought it was fab. 

I have two reviews due later this week so I read Love and Laughter (and Other Disasters) by Elora Canne, and started reading The Shadow on the Bridge by Clare Marchant. 

In other big news, I finished volume 1 of War and Peace this week. It is funny what you find when you look back in the archives of your blog. I was searching for something last week and came across this post from 2010 which is the last time I attempted to read this book. I have made it further this time than I did then, but I have to figure out what my strategy is going to be for when we go away for a couple of weeks. I don't really want to drag the book around with me, and I don't want to change versions or translations. Maybe I will read a few chapters ahead and then catch up when I get home!

We had our read on a theme book club meeting on Saturday. The theme was Classics and this is just some of what people read. I listened to Pride and Prejudice and will have a post up soon with some thoughts, not necessarily on the book, but on the enduring impact and legacy of Jane Austen or something like that anyway. Our next theme is Spy and I have a couple of ideas of what I am going to read.

I'm watching

You may recall that last weekend I went to the movies and saw the latest Bridget Jones movie. While I knew that I had watched the first one, I had no recollection of the second and third films at all, so this week I sat and watched the first 3 movies. If I had to rate the four movies I would say that the first and last movies are the best, followed by the third one and then the second one was the least entertaining!

The French Film Festival has just started and I am a little bit gutted that I am going to be away for most of it as there are quite a few movies that I wanted to see showing. I did go to the movies by myself on Friday night to see Jane Austen Wrecked My Life which was a lot of fun. It is about a woman who wants to be an author, but can't seem to finish any of her stories. Her friend sends a few chapters off and she gets accepted into a Jane Austen residency writers retreat in England. It is a fun movie!

Here's the trailer

Life



After book club I went to see the Yayoi Susama exhibition for the second time. The second half of the exhibition is so much fun, full of immersion rooms, polka dots, pumpkins with polka dots. It's a lot of fun. You can see a couple of photos from the first time I went here, and then below are some from my most recent visit.

Posts from the last week


Top Ten Tuesday: Author sisters
Blog Tour: If You Could See Me Now by Samantha Tonge
Weekend Cooking: The Jam Maker by Mary-Lou Stephens
Historical Fiction Reading Challenge - February stats




I've linked this post to It's Monday, what are you reading? as hosted by Book Date and Sunday Salon hosted at Readerbuzz

This week...

I'm reading

We are going away at the end of this month, so I wanted to get a bit of a head start to my reading so that I can write all my posts before I go away. I therefore read I Knew You Were Trouble by Aussie author Sandy Barker, which is the fifth and final book in the Ever After Agency series.

I then started reading Out on a Limb by Hannah Bonam-Young. I am not really sure why as I already had multiple books on the go, but sometimes you just have to do what you have to do! I have heard lots of good things about it!

I also started reading If You Could See My Now by Samantha Tonge. My review for this book will be up later this week!

Last week I had mentioned that I had started listening to Mis-directed by Lucy Parker but I was falling asleep on the couch. In the end, I started it again, and found myself sitting at the desk just listening to it! I got through it in two days as I couldn't stop listening. I did have to remind myself that Lucy Parker had written the book - it wasn't Nicola Coughlin sharing some of things that go on backstage on a period TV series.

I have now gone back to listening to The Truth by Terry Pratchett. I started this in January but put it aside to listen to Pride and Prejudice for book club. I expect I will finish The Truth this week.

Speaking of Jane Austen, I went to a library event on Friday night. It was a one woman show where she acts as the author whilst dressed in accurate period clothing, sharing letters that she sent and received, as well as excerpts from Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility and Emma. Given that I have only recently read P&P, the section she read was very familiar to me!

I'm watching


I've seen a few movies this week. I watched The Dolce Villa which is about a young woman who buys a 1 Euro house in a small village in Italy. Her dad comes to try to persuade her that this is a mistake. He clashes with the female mayor straight away but he does start to come around. They did get all the renovations done very quickly, and there were some nice foodie scenes!

I then watched a movie which has been given an English title of Honeymoon Crasher, but in French it is called Lune de Miel Avec Ma Mere or Honeymoon with My Mother! And that pretty much describes the movie. A man is dumped at the wedding ceremony  and so he is convinced to go on the honeymoon with his mother. Queue all the jokes about him being married to a much older woman. It was fun as he began to see her as someone in her own right, not just as his mother. The movie was set in Mauritius which looked gorgeous!

On Sunday I went to see Bridget Jones 4: Mad About the Boy at the cinema. I am not sure that I remember seeing movies 2 or 3, but I did quite enjoy this one. I cried several times, and I laughed! I might go and see if I can rewatch the first three movies.

We also started watching season 2 of Rogue Heroes. We really enjoyed the first series which is about the development of the SAS - Special Auxiliary Service. It is very much a smash em, bash em, blow em up kind of series, but it is a lot of fun!


Life

Not much to report here!

Max

Max is definitely better than he was last week, but we are struggling to get his sugar reading down. Hopefully we can work it out this week. He's very happy in himself though which is a relief.


Posts from the last week


Top Ten Tuesday: Books Set in Another Time

Blog Tour: A Santorini Secret by Rose Alexander

Blog Tour: From Provence with Love by Alison Roberts

Historical Fiction Reading Challenge - March links

Weekend Kitchen: What I Baked in my Kitchen in February 

Six Degrees: Prophet Song to My Father's House







I've linked this post to It's Monday, what are you reading? as hosted by Book Date and Sunday Salon hosted at Readerbuzz

This week

I'm reading

We have a great life in Australia. One of the less positive things is that it takes a long time to get anywhere, but of course you can find some silver linings if you look hard enough. For example, this week we had around 20 hours of travel time which means I got a few stories read and watched a couple of things.

While we were on the plane, I finished reading The Secret Keeper by Renita D'Silva and then I read a few short stories. I will post my review for The Secret Keeper next week.

I was introduced to a historical fiction short story collection which is being published as a collection called Blaze by The Chocolate Lady's Book Review Blog. It is spotlighting interesting stories about women. So far I have read Barriers to Entry by Ariel Lawhon and The Forgotten Chapter by Pam Jenoff. I have had Lawhon on my radar for a long time but never actually read her. I will definitely read more. And I have read Pam Jenoff but it has been many, many years. I have some more long flights in my future so I will probably read more.

The other short story I read was by a new to me Scottish author, Stuart MacBride. The story was called The Tasting Menu. I don't read a lot of crime these days, so this was a bit out of my comfort zone, but I picked it up as part of the Amazon First Reads. If I had to pick a word to describe it, it would probably be gruesome.

Finally I started read The Map Maker's Secret by Catherine Law, which is another book predominantly set in Scotland. So far I am enjoying it a lot.


I'm watching

Before we left home, we were still watching a lot of Olympics, and that has continue since we arrived, except now we have to cheer for Australia, South Africa and the Netherlands.

On the plane there were a number of things on offer that I would like to watch. First up I watched a French/Japanese movie called Umami which stars Gerard areu. It is about a French chef who nearly dies and decides on a whim to go to Japan in search of the mysterious qualities of umami. It wasn't bad.

The next movie I watched was called Just One Small Favour. This is a Spanish comedy where a dysfunctional family is called to their summer home when the maid dies, and suddenly lots of secrets are being revealed. It was a bit of fun.

The final thing I watched was a cooking series called Simple Spices by British chef Nadiya Hussain. I have enjoyed a few of her books and series, and this was really good as well. I am not sure this is on in Australia so it was a bit of a find, and there are definitely 

Life

Can you tell I didn't get much sleep on the flight? We are here for my parents-in-laws 60th wedding anniversary, but on Friday we did a walking tour of Soweto which was very interesting, and now we are at a game lodge where we have been on a game drive so far and this morning a massage. The place we are staying is really 1beautiful, with this lovely pool. I am not sure it is quite hot enough to get in the pool but we will see

Posts from the last week

Top Ten Tuesday: Holiday Countdown!

Blog Tour: An Island Promise by Kate Frost 

Weekend Cooking: Greek-ish by Georgina Hayden

Sunday Salon: Historical Fiction Reading Challenge - July statistics

I've linked this post to It's Monday, what are you reading? as hosted by Book Date

Paris in July: The Three Musketeers: D'Artagnan and The Three Musketeers: Madame

You know I love a foreign film festival and make an effort to see at least one film from each festival during the year. If I had to pick a favourite film festival, the French Film Festival would be right up there! 

In order to gently encourage my husband to come with me to see festival films, I thought I would start this year's French Film festival viewing with a film he should really like so we went to see the The Three Musketeers: D'Artagnan. After all, the story should be at least somewhat familiar given how many adaptations there have been over the years.

Whilst I am not sure how faithful the adaptation was to the original book, it was certainly entertaining. There were sufficient levels of buckle and swash, derring do and fair maidens! There was also humour, adventure, glamour and dirt! In short, it was a lot of fun.

I am not going to recap the story, because I can't talk about the second film without spoiling the first one!

This film was one of the highest grossing films in France in 2023 and it was nominated for a number of prizes.

Here's the trailer for D'Artagnan

It is fair to say that we enjoyed the movie as the next week we were back at the same cinema to watch the second movie, The Three Musketeers: Madame. Interestingly these were both filmed back to back, and you can tell. There were some really lovely locations used across both films, and there were no problems with continuity.

The story was engaging and entertaining! The door has well and truly be left open for another film, and we will definitely be lining up to watch any sequel that comes out!

Here's the trailer for Milady!

Weekend Cooking/Paris in July: The Taste of Things (La Passion de Dodin Bouffant)

For a couple of years now, I have tried to see at least one movie at each international film festival as it comes to town. For example, recently I watched a couple of Spanish movies, and this weekend I am going to see a Danish movie. Earlier this year, it was the French Film Festival and I managed to see three movies, one of which was The Taste of Things, also known as The Pot-Au-Feu.

The Taste of Things is set in 1899 and tells the story of a passionate gourmand, by the name of Dodin Bouffant and his housekeeper Eugénie. A gournand is defined on Wikipedia as someone "who takes great pleasure and interest in consuming particularly good food and drink."  

For the first 30 minutes or so there is very little dialogue in The Taste of Things. Instead we witness a complicated but well choreographed dance as Eugénie, Dodin, her assistant Violette and a young protege named Pauline work together prepare a lavish, multiple course feast for Dodin and his group of foodie friends. During this whole scene. the only words are directional ("put the veal in the oven" for example. Other than that we watch as vegetables are chopped, broths are made, fish are poached, and love and passion are expressed in the form of food. It is food porn at it's finest.

However, whilst there is a lot of cooking in this movie, it is more than that. Dodin and Eugénie are lovers and have been for many years. He has asked her multiple times to become his wife, but she is content with life as it is and doesn't see the need to change. The life that they have is very comfortable. They live in a gorgeous chateau, where Eugénie oversees the growing of the freshest ingredients.

No matter how content people may be, time passes and things change, and so it is for Dodin and Eugénie. When the latter becomes unwell, it is Dodin who takes care of her and who has to face into a life without her.

This movie was the French submission for the Oscars last year and won a couple of French awards as well, and you can see why. It is a beautifully shot, very emotive story and the two stars shine on the screen. It is interesting that Juliette Binoche and Benoît Magimel are former partners and share a daughter. I am not sure I could work with my ex for months on end. Actually, I 100% could not work with my ex under any circumstance. 

If you like food, or you like French movies, or indeed if you like both, watch this movie!

I am sharing this post with my fellow participants in Paris in July, hosted by Emma at Words and Peace.

Weekly meals

Saturday - Out for dinner
Sunday -Chicken Kiev, Mash, Broccoli and Gravy
Monday - Beef and Broccoli Noodles
Tuesday - Work dinner
Wednesday - Chicken Stir Fry and rice
Thursday - Butter chicken and rice
Friday - Takeaway

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page

This week...

 I'm reading

I mentioned last week that I started reading a book because it was calling to me. Unfortunately, a different book started calling my name and so I ended up reading No. 23 Burlington Square by Jenni Keer instead. I really enjoyed it, so no regrets, but now I need to try and fit the other book in.

I also finished reading Relish by Lucy Knisley. I will have a review up for my reread of that book on the weekend.

Now I need to decide what to read next. Should I read  one of my upcoming blog tour books even though I have about 3 weeks, or just a normal review book, whatever I feel like from my TBR list, or one of the 3 library books I have out. Decisions, decisions.

I also finished listening to Richard Armitage whisper sweet nothings in my ear. Actually he was narrating the book Sylvester by Georgette Heyer. Alway such a treat to listen to one of these books

I wasn't sure what to listen to next. However, last week I tried a new post out called Time Travel Thursday and I was reminded that 10 years ago I was reading one of the books in the No. Ladies Detective Agency and so I decided to listen to The Woman Who Walks in Sunshine, the next book for me in the series. It will also count for my Read on a Theme bookclub as well, so I will have read two books for this month.

I'm watching

We finished a couple of things this week. Firstly, we finished Bake Off : The Professionals which is a show that we love.

We also finished watching Masters of the Air, which is the story of the 100th Bomber Group from WWII. After finishing the last episode, we also watched a documentary called The Bloody Hundredth which features interviews with the actual men who lived the story from the TV series.

Last week, we watched the first part of The Three Musketeers, which was called The Three Musketeers: D'Artagnan. This weekend we went and watched the sequel, The Three Musketeers: Milady. Interestingly, both of these movies were filmed at the same time. The end of the movie definitely lends itself to another movie. I wouldn't be surprised if there is a third movie.

Finally, I felt the need for something a bit fun so I watched Irish Wish on Netflix, which stars Lindsay Lohan. It wasn't bad. Here's the trailer.

Life

Last Tuesday night we went to see Pink in concert. This is the third time I have seen her live. The first two times it was in an arena, but this time it was in a stadium, so just Pink, her band and dancers, and 59998 other people! She always puts on an amazing show.

I also did a cooking class for a Maltese Easter treat called Fogilla. I am looking forward to sharing that experience with you all in a couple of weeks.

Posts from the last week

Top Ten Tuesday: Read on a theme bookclub

Time Travel Thursday 

Blog Tour: The Bordeaux Book Club by Gillian Harvey

Weekend Cooking: Ready, Steady....Cook

I've linked this post to It's Monday, what are you reading? as hosted by Book Date

This week....

I'm reading

Our current theme for our read on a theme book club is Crime: Fact or Fiction, so I decided it was time for me to see what all the fuss is about and read Richard Osman's The Thursday Murder Club. I can see why people enjoy it. There are a lot of fun elements in it, and I love that we are only just getting to know all of the characters, especially Elizabeth. Can't wait to find out more about her past.

Speaking of book clubs, my next read was The Bordeaux Book Club by Gillian Harvey which I am need to review for a blog tour this week. I have always enjoyed this author's books and this was no exception.

Just this morning I started a book called The Lost Letters of Aisling by Cynthia Ellingsen. It was one of Amazon's First Read books this month and it was calling my name.

Finally I thought I better actually start reading Relish by Lucy Knisley which is this month's Cook the Book selection. This is actually a re-read for me but it was a VERY long time ago.

I'm watching

You know I love a foreign film festival and make an effort to see at least one film from each festival during the year. If I had to pick a favourite film festival though, it would be the French Film Festival and it is on right now! Hooray!! Looking at the list of films, there are at least 5 or 6 that I would like to see.

I occasionally gently encourage my husband to come with me to see festival films, so I thought I would start this year's festival viewing with a film he should really like. On Saturday night we went to see the The Three Musketeers: D'Artagnan and it was a lot of fun. There have been so many version of The Three Musketeers over the years, and this one was a very good version. There were sufficient levels of buckle and swash, derring do and fair maidens! It was a lot of fun. We are planning to try and see the follow up movie, The Three Musketeers: Milady next weekend! 

Here's the trailer for D'Artagnan

Life

It's a long weekend here as we have Monday off for Labour Day, it is hot hot hot. We have 3 days in a row over 38 degrees. Now, in other parts of Australia they will scoff because they have that every second weekend, but here in Melbourne that is the longest streak we have had since 1942. We are therefore keeping a very low profile this weekend and not doing a lot. We went to the movies on Saturday night and today we are going to my sister's for dinner and maybe a swim!

In other news, I have been thinking about a blog redesign for years, and it is actually happening! Watch this space...literally!

Max and Nala

We did put the clam shell out for the dogs yesterday, although I do think we need a bigger pool for them! lol

Posts from the last week

Top Ten Tuesday: Sir Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction longlist

Blog Tour: A Villa with a View by Julie Caplin

Weekend Cooking: A Weekend in Sydney

Sunday Salon: Historical Fiction Reading Challenge - February stats

I've linked this post to It's Monday, what are you reading? as hosted by Book Date

Weekend Cooking/Paris in July: Sugar and Stars (À la belle étoile)

I have mentioned a few times now about how I am trying to see at least one film from the various foreign film festivals that are held in Melbourne each year. Earlier this year, there were so many films at the French Film Festival that I would have liked to have seen, but I didn't have enough time. I am therefore very glad that they have had a wider release and I have been able to see a couple more. A couple of weeks ago I went off to see Driving Madeline and last weekend I went to the movies by myself to see Sugar and Stars. There were only a 4 people in the cinema, but the theatre complex was busy with most people opting to see the Barbie movie! Lots of people dressed in pink!!

So many times we hear about how sport has lifted someone out of poverty. In this case, it was food, in particular pastry, that was the mechanism. Our story begins with a small boy who we meet as he is helping himself to the ingredients that he needs to make a cake for his mum. We watch Yazid grows up. His childhood is tough. His mother is neglectful and he spends a number of years being cared for by a foster family who encourage his love of cooking but he ends up in what looks like a reform school. The one passion that keeps him going is his love of pastry and he is going to do everything he can, even if it means having to catch  a train 180km to get to a job every day.

Yazid is obsessed. In order to keep a job he has to create an amazing looking black forest dessert that's created by a master pastry chef. He doesn't get it exactly right the first time but the chef sees enough there to keep him on the job. Yazid then practices and practices until he has it perfect in every way. This attention to detail holds him in good stead, but there are times when he experiences racism and bullying in the kitchens he works in. His economic situation doesn't help. At one stage he is working in a top restaurant in the south of France and yet he is sleeping on the beach.

This is the story of a man who chased his dream, all the way to the top, culminating in participating in the International Pastry Championships. Once you work out who is who in the movie, it is an uplifting and inspiring story, made even better by the fact that it is based on a true story. The movie is based on the autobiography by Yazid Ichemrahen, and at the end we get to see the pictures of the actual chef whose story we have just seen. Any movie that you see that has a part where you get to find out what happens next to the real people involved is always better in my mind.

For all that the story is good, the food porn in this film is pretty amazing. From eggs being dropped into flour, to melting chocolate, gorgeous fruit, and amazingly beautiful creations that look so extravagant and beautiful it is a visual delight!

I am sharing this post for Weekend Cooking but also for Paris in July hosted by Emma at Words and Peace.

Weekly meals

Saturday -  Baked Ratatouille and Beans

Sunday -  Smoky Sausage and Rice

Monday - Chicken Shwarma

Tuesday - Pork chops, mash, beans and gravy

Wednesday - Pressure cooker spag bol

Thursday - Cheese on toast

Friday - Takeaway

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page

Paris in July: Driving Madeline (Une Belle Course)

For the last couple of years, my friend and I have made it our mission to make sure that we attend at least one movie from each of the international film festivals that are on throughout the year. Earlier this year, it was the French Film Festival, and we went to see a few movies because I never struggle to find French movies to watch. Some of the other festivals to are a bit tougher to find films to watch but not that one.

The first that we saw was a movie called November which we enjoyed. We followed that up with Two Tickets to Greece which was not too bad and then there was another movie called The Tasting, which I wrote about here.

There were, however, a couple of movies that I wanted to see which we didn't manage to fit in. One of those was a movie called Umami starring Gerard Depardieu and another was another foodie movie called Sugar and Stars. I think that this movie is coming to a nearby cinema next month so I will definitely be going to see this when it comes out.

Some of the festival films get a general release and one of these was a movie called Driving Madeleine which I went to see last weekend. 

Driving Madeline is a movie with a very simple premise. Charles is a Paris taxi driver. He works long days, driving around a city he barely sees, and he is barely making ends meet. He has financial difficulties and he is pretty much at the end of his tether. He gets offered a fare that will mean driving from one side of the city to the other. He isn't keen, but he takes the fare anyway.

His passenger is a 92 year old woman named Madeline Keller. She has hired this taxi to drive her from her family home to the aged care facility that she has been forced to move into. Along the way, she asks Charles to take her to some of the locations that were important to her during her life and reminisces with him, sharing her story, which we see through a series of flashbacks. Some of these are happy memories - her first real kiss with an American soldier during WWII, and others were not. We follow Madeline's story through the 1950s and 60s, and through her eyes we see how much has changed in terms of both the city of Paris and attitudes towards things like domestic violence.

It turns out that Madeline has had a somewhat turbulent life, one that shocks Charles as she reveals her story to him. And yet, she has a very positive outlook, reminding Charles of the importance of laughing and creating memories with those that he loves. 

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Paris is very much an important part of this movie. As the pair drive through the city, we get to see many of the famous landmarks and the architectures that are so much of the Paris that we love. We also got to see the traffic! Having visited the city recently I found myself looking out for the places that we visited and the landmarks we saw. I found myself wondering if this movie would have had the same impact for me if it was filmed elsewhere, for example, in the city that I live in. I guess it could have but I loved the Paris setting.

You know where the movie is going to go which would be unusual in real life, but despite that, it is a beautiful movie. Legendary French actress and singer Line Renaud is fabulous as Madeline and Dany Boon is also good as the troubled driver Charles. I laughed and cried, I was reminded of the time that we had spent in Paris. When we came out of the movie my friend was talking about the bad movie etiquette exhibited by others in the cinema, but I was oblivious. I was that engrossed in the movie. I did notice that I wasn't the only person wiping away tears at the end of the movie.

Despite some of the heavy themes, it is a lovely movie which I enjoyed immensely.

Here's the trailer

This week...

I'm reading

I really struggle at times deciding what to read next. I finished The Kitchen Front and found myself scrolling through various collections on my Kindle, and then contemplating my pile of library loans trying to decide what to read now.

The end result is that sometimes you just can't make a choice so I have read a chapter of Madame Pommery, Creator of Brut Champagne by Rebecca Rosenberg and a couple of chapters of My Father's House by Joseph O'Connor. At least they are two very different books so I won't get the two of them mixed up. And one of them I can easily read in the middle of the night! The other - not so much!

I'm watching

We started watching a British mockumentary called Cunk on Earth. It takes all the very earnest and serious traits of history and nature documentaries and has a lot of fun with it. And now I have an almost irrestible urge to listen to Pump Up Your Jam by Technotronic!

I mentioned a while ago that I am hoping to go to see at least one film from the international film festivals this year. The titles for the upcoming French film festival have now been released and there are so many that look amazing. I am not sure how I am going to fit in seeing all the ones I want to see. We did go and see a film called The Innocent last week and thoroughly enjoyed it! 

Life

It's been a big music week this week for us. On Thursday night we went to see Scottish band Del Amitri perform, and it was so good! One album in particular is a go to album to listen to now, even more than 30 years after its release. They put on such a good show!

And then, speaking of good shows, we saw Sting perform on Saturday. I would have called myself relatively interested in Sting's music before that, but now I am definitely a fan. I have already said if he comes back I will definitely be going to see him live again. 

We have one more live music gig this week and then a bit of a break!

Posts from the last week

Top Ten Tuesday: The Classics Edition

Musings on Music: The Music of Roy Orbison

Weekend Cooking: The Italian Pantry by Theo Randall

I've linked this post to It's Monday, what are you reading? as hosted by Book Date