JE T'AIME LE MOVIES FRANCAISE

Gentle Readers,

Your Lola finally got a little sleep early this morning and awoke to a disaster: Someone chewed off most of one of the handles on the rocking horse Lola's Dad made for Favorite Young Man long, long ago. Who would sneak into Lola's house and do such a thing? Perhaps a certain dog will have to start sleeping in his crate if he is not going to warn Lola that intruders are chewing on treasured artifacts. What a disappointment for all of us.

Now let's get down to business. I like French movies. I have no idea if I spelled my Title correctly, but I still love French movies. I have ever since Favorite Young Woman introduced me to Amelie, starring Audrey Tautou. It's so wonderfully whimsical. If you'll be spending a quiet night at home on New Year's Eve, as I will, I strongly recommend Amelie. Je t'adore, and it has a happy ending.

Boy, it's a good thing I don't get any hits from France. The French certainly would not tolerate my bad French.

I also recommend two other movies starring Audrey Tautou of the big, black adorable eyes. First, A Very Long Engagement, about a young woman whose beloved seems to have died during WWI. She sets out to discover what happened to him. Supposedly, he was executed by being tossed into No Man's Land following his court martial for self-mutilation. Our heroine doggedly tracks every one of the men and their wives, girlfriends, or lovers, who suffered that horror. The twists and turns of A Very Long Engagement are fascinating, making this film as good as Amelie, but in a different way. Je t'adore, and it has a happy ending.

The third Audrey Tautou movie is Coco Before Chanel, a biopic that examine parts of Gabrielle's Chanel's life before she became the famous designer. I learned quite a bit, all of it interesting, about Coco Chanel, and then I googled her to learn even more. Please do not confuse this movie with a Lifetime movie that was on TV during the last year or so. Coco Before Chanel is much better than a Lifetime movie.

And you do understand, do you not, that these French movies are in French? It's o.k. You can read the subtitles. Just don't expect to multi-task when you're watching a movie with subtitles.

These three movies all feature women who deserve to be on WOMEN: WE SHALL OVERCOME, and the fourth is no exception: Marion Cotillard's Academy Award-winning performance as the great and passionate, but troubled, Edith Piaf in La Vie En Rose. Wow! My only regret is that Audrey Tautou doesn't have her own Academy Award. F.Y.W. recommends not watching the extended version of this film; stick with the theatrical version. F.Y.W. says the extended version goes on and on forever.

And finally we get to a French movie I have probably mentioned before because I think it's the most amazing movie I have ever seen: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. It's based on a memoir of the same title about a Frenchman who had a stroke -- this is a true story -- and was able to move only one eye. Much of the film is shown to us from his P.O.V. Although the main character here is a man, the woman who teaches him to communicate by blinking his remaining good eye is also an extremely important part of the story. She helped him write the memoir on which the movie is based. Sadly, or perhaps happily for him, he died soon after completing his book.

Well, now I've prepared you for New Year's Eve. You have no reason to complain that you are lonely or bored. Cuddle up to a good dog or cat and watch a wonderful French movie.

Infinities of amour,

Lola