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FILM

The French films with English subtitles to watch in December 2023

Lost in Frenchlation - the cinema club that screens French films with English subtitles - has a strong offering for December 2023, including a French holiday classic.

Published: 4 December 2023 11:32 CET
The French films with English subtitles to watch in December 2023
(Photo by LOIC VENANCE / AFP)

Lost in Frenchlation‘s mission is simple – to open up the wonderful world of French cinema to people whose French is not yet good enough to understand a whole film without subtitles. 

The club has recently expanded to Biarritz, Lyon, Caen and south-west France, but its December screenings are all in Paris.

This month marks the 8th anniversary of Lost in Frenchlation, so there are plenty of activities on the docket. From ice-cream tastings, Q&As with both directors and actors, as well as a special comedy night.

Here’s what is coming up:

Simple comme Sylvain (‘The Nature of Love’)

Details – Friday, December 8th at L’Entrepôt Cinema (7 Rue Francis de Pressensé, Paris, 14th arrondissement). Meet and greet raffle and custom ice cream by Kev Glace starting at 7pm, screening at 8pm. Tickets range from €7-€8.50 and can be purchased here.

Film – Directed by Monia Chokri, ‘Simple comme Sylvain‘ is a Quebecois comedy that follows Montreal based philosophy professor Sophia. She has been in a relationship with her partner, Xavier, for 10 years. The couple later hires Sylvian, a carpenter to renovate their country house. Sophia and Sylvain fall in love at first sight, but can it last?

L’Abbé Pierre

Details – Sunday, December 10th at the Luminor theatre (20 Rue du Temple, Paris, 75004). Arrive early for drinks and to give donations to ‘Serve the City Paris’ at 7pm. Donations like new or used tents, as well as sleeping bags, will be accepted. The screening will begin at 8pm. Tickets range from €7 – €11. You can buy them here.

Film – Director Frédéric Tellier seeks to tell the story of the important French figure and Catholic priest l’Abbé Pierre. Throughout his life, he was a member of the French Resistance during World War II and went on to become a politician. Eventually, he founded the Emmaus charity, with the goal of helping the poor and homeless. 

Rien à perdre (‘All to Play for’)

Details – Thursday, December 14th at the Luminor Theatre (20 Rue du Temple, Paris, 75004). Arrive early for pre-drinks at 7pm, the screening will start at 8pm. Afterwards, there will be a Q&A with the director. Tickets range from €7 – €11, you can purchase them here.

Film – Director Delphine Dologet’s film tells the story of Sylvie, a mother who lives in Brest with her two children, Sofiane and Jean-Jacques. One night, Sofiane is injured while he is alone in the apartment. Sylvie is reported and Sofiane is sent into care. However, Sylvie does not give up, and with the help of her lawyer, she takes on the French legal system and bureaucracy to win back her son.

Flo 

Details – Monday, December 18th at L’Arlequin (76 Rue de Rennes, 75006, Paris). Arrive early for pre-drinks at 7pm. The screening starts at 8pm, and there will be a Q&A afterwards with the director and lead actress. Tickets range from €8.50 -€11, and you can buy them here.

Film – Directed by Géraldine Danon, ‘Flo’ recounts the story of Florence Arthaud, who was a great sailor known as ‘the little bride of the Atlantic’. Navigating the male-dominated world of sailing, Arthaud made her name with her victory in the Route du Rhum competition in 1990. 

Je ne suis pas un Heros (‘I am not a hero’)

Details – Thursday, December 21st at L’Arlequin (76 Rue de Rennes, 75006, Paris). Arrive at 7pm for pre-drinks, screening at 8pm. Stick around for a Q&A with the director afterwards. Tickets range from €8.50 -€11 and can be purchased here.

Film – This comedy/drama, by Rudy Milstein, tells the story of Louis, who one day is mistakenly diagnosed with a serious illness. Normally just a nice guy, people start to take notice of Louis after his diagnosis. Once he figures out that he is not sick, he’s hesitant to tell people the truth.

Les Bronzés font du ski (‘French Fried Vacation 2: The Bronzés go skiing’)

Details – Thursday, December 28th at the Luminor Theatre (20 Rue du Temple, Paris, 75004). Arrive early for pre-drinks at 7pm and enjoy a comedy show by Elspeth Grety at 8pm. The screening will start at 8:30pm. Tickets range from €12-€16, you can purchase them here.

Film – Directed by Patrice Leconte, enjoy the sequel to the original ‘Les Bronzés’. This time our favourite characters meet up for a new adventurous trip – this time finding themselves lost in the mountains – a classic French holiday movie dating from 1979 but still much loved.

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CULTURE

Why is the Mona Lisa so famous (and why is it even in France)?

Being lauded as either the greatest artwork in the world or the most overrated tourist attraction in France, Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa does not struggle to get attention. But why is this small portrait so famous?

Published: 17 May 2024 17:47 CEST
Why is the Mona Lisa so famous (and why is it even in France)?

Paris’ Louvre museum has recently announced that the Mona Lisa painting is to get its own room, a move that is at least partly in reaction to increasing complaints about the artwork being overrated, while tourists struggle to see it in the small, crowded space.

There aren’t many paintings that get a room of their own, so just what is it about Mona Lisa (or La Joconde as she is known in France) that attracts so many millions of tourists each year – and should you bother going to see her?

Why is it in France?

Let’s start with why the painting is in France in the first place, since both painter and subject are Italian (although Italy at that time was still a collection of city states which would not be unified into the modern country until 1861). 

In short, Mona Lisa is in France because her creator Leonardo da Vinci travelled with her, and he was in France when he died in 1519. The reason that he was in France is that he spent the last years of his life working on special commissions for king François I. He died at the Château du Clos Lucé in Amboise, in France’s Loire Valley. 

Upon his death Mona Lisa was taken into the French royal collection and various descendants of François I hung her in their palaces until the French Revolution happened in 1793.

After the Revolution, with the exception of a brief stint in Napoleon’s palace, the painting entered the collection of the newly-created Louvre gallery which – in the spirit of revolutionary equality – was opened up to the people so that they too could enjoy great art.

Various requests over the years – some polite, others less so – from Italy to return the painting have been firmly declined by the French state. 

When did it get famous?

In the 18th and 19th centuries Leonardo’s painting was a popular exhibit among museum visitors, but didn’t have any particular fame and wasn’t regarded as any more special than the numerous other artworks exhibited there.

Although some academic interest in the painting’s subject – most commonly thought to be Lisa Gherardini, wife of the Florentine merchant Francesco del Giocondo – stirred in the 19th century, her real fame didn’t arrive until 1911.

This is when the painting was stolen from the Louvre, a crime that became a sensation and a cause celèbre in France, even more so when the painting was finally found in 1913 after the thief had attempted to sell it in Italy.

The fame of the painting and the crime inspired contemporary artists such as Marcel Duchamp who created a playful reproduction of Mona Lisa (complete with beard and moustache) which in turn enhanced the painting’s recognition. The artistic trend continued with everyone from Andy Warhol to the ubiquitous student posters of Mona Lisa smoking a joint.

Former chairman of the French Communist Party Robert Hue views moustachioed Mona Lisa by dadaist painter Marcel Duchamp, lent out by his party for the first time for an exhibition in January 2002. Photo by NICOLAS ASFOURI / AFP

A tour of the painting to the US in 1963 and to Japan in 1974 further enhanced the celebrity status.

21st century

These days it’s perhaps accurate to say that the painting is simply famous because it’s famous. As the best-known piece of art in the world it’s automatically on many tourists’ ‘must see’ list when they come to Paris – and a lot of tourists come to Paris (roughly 44 million per year).

Meanwhile the Louvre is the most-visited museum in the world, attracting roughly 9 million visitors a year.

Although some visitors find the painting itself disappointing (it’s very small, just 77cm by 53cm) the most common complaint is that the room is too crowded – many people report that it’s so jammed with visitors that it’s hard to even see the picture never mind spend time contemplating the artwork.

Should I go and see it?

It really depends on what you like – if your taste in art is firmly in the more modern camp then you probably won’t find that this painting particularly speaks to you. You will, however, find a lot in Paris that is much more to your taste, running from the Musée d’Orsay (mostly art created between 1848 and 1914) to the Pompidou Centre (featuring contemporary and experimental art) and much, much more.

If, however, Renaissance art is your bag then you’ll struggle to find a finer example of it than Mona Lisa, with her beautiful brushwork, detailed and intriguing background and realistic presentation.

If you do decide to visit, then be prepared for the gallery to be crowded – the Louvre now operates on a pre-booking basis but even having a pre-booked ticket won’t save you from the crowds.

If possible try to avoid the summer and school holidays and prioritise weekdays over weekends – the early morning or late evening slots tend to be a little quieter than others, but you’re going to have to be prepared to share her with many other art-lovers.

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