Monday, August 16, 2010

A brief break from the unending politico-economic bad news: Two thumbs up for a truly uplifing movie, Avenue Montaigne!


We bought this 2007 film this summer on a 5-DVDs-for-30-euros sale at the Fnac in Paris. Although in French, it appears tailored for the American audience, being replete with the jacket description in English, previews of American films, and English subtitles set as the default choice.

From the back jacket of this DVD:
AVENUE MONTAIGNE centers around Jessica a beautiful young woman from the provinces who comes to Paris and lands a job waiting tables at a chic bistro on fabled Avenue Montaigne, the city's nexus for art, music, theater, and fashion. Jessica's customers include a popular TV actress who is courting a major Hollywood director for her first serious film role; a wealthy art collector who is about to liquidate a lifetime's worth of treasures at auction; an illustrious classical pianist who is at odds with his manager/wife as to where his career is headed. Precisely because Jessica doesn't know how celebrated these people are, her guileless and completely unintimidated engagement in their lives has a transforming effect on them -- and ultimately her.

Blogger's comment:
Although incidental to the plot, the film from time to time came back to a copy of a sculpture known as "Le Baiser" ("The Kiss") by Romanian sculptor Constantin Brancusi, which the art collector had in his collection. The most famous example of this Brancusi creation is found in Cimetiere Montparnasse in Paris (see pix below).

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