Les Bavards

More French Movie Fare. It must be Christmas!! Oh, wait, it is!!

From December 1 2006 through January 2 2007, the Gene Siskel Film Center in Chicago presents French Ticklers, a series of eight comedies presented in association with Cultural Services of the French Embassy and the Ministère des Affaires Étrangères (MAE).
French Ticklers presents a selection of prominent comedies from the last quarter-century. These films represent the field of popular comedy rarely seen in American theaters, as opposed to the art-house variety of AMELIE and LOOK AT ME. Only three of them (LA CHÈVRE, FRENCH TWIST, THE VISITORS) have received U.S. theatrical releases, and they are seldom revived. Several of the films in the series are being screened in original French versions that were cut or altered for American theatrical or video release.

Gene Siskel Film Center in Chicago
164 North State Street
Chicago, Illinois 60601
Tel: 312-846-2600 - MOVIE HOTLINE: 312-846-2800

Special thanks to Diane Eberhardt, Cultural Services of the French Embassy, Chicago; Delphine Selles and François Leloup-Collet, Cultural Services of the French Embassy, New York; and Antoine Sebire, Embassy of France, Washington.

(Some of the movies shown are must-see for anyone who wants to develop an appreciation of popular French comedies. I can only applaud all those responsible for putting this program together - Patrick)

The 10th Annual Festival of New French Cinema at Facets Multimedia (December 1-10), with a great variety of styles and genres (relationship comedies; personal dramas; a space parody; a paranormal thriller); actors you love(Romain Duris, Emmanuelle Devos, Mathieu Amalric, Cécile de France, Michel Blanc, Gérard Depardieu,Sabine Azéma and Daniel
Auteuil); and filmmakers on the rise (Christophe Honoré, Sophie Fillières, the Larrieu brothers and Xavier Giannoli). An absolute must for any serious film lover!

http://www.facets.org

Les Bavards are meeting Wednesday, December 6, 2006 at the Black Ram Steakhouse in Des Plaines.
6:30 p.m.

December 6: "La saint-Nicolas". When I was young, and I am sure those of you who are from the Alsace-Lorraine region will probably have similar stories to tell, La saint- Nicolas was a sure sign that Christmas was not far off. In our area, children would polish their boots, and place them by the chimney on the eve of December 6. Overnight, St. Nicholas would visit and leave an orange, some chocolate and a pain d'épices. No Playstation, no iPod. Just coming downstairs in the morning, and finding these little gifts in our boots made our day. And it was the same for all of our friends. It was in many ways a wonderful celebration.

A mercredi.

Lu dans le Parisien. C'est la fin des haricots pour Halloween en France.
N'habitant plus en France, j'ai été quelque peu surpris d'apprendre que cette fête, que je ne comprend pas vraiment, même après plus de vingt ans passées ici, y soit célébrée.
Et effectivement, lors d'un cours séjour en Alsace il y a deux ans, j'ai trouvé Strasbourg
et les petits villages alentours décorés avec des citrouilles, des toiles d'araignées et des sorcières. Le clou biensûr est que pratiquement personne ne savait très bien quel était le sens de cette fête.
Enfin les français sont revenus à la raison. Tant mieux.