Diane in Montmartre(PART 1 OF 4)
Subj:Summer is here
with us!
Enjoy the fireworks
on the English Bay!
From: diane03760@vancouver.ca
To: barclay1720@aol.com
Date: Tue, Aug 9, 2011 4:41 pm.
Pacific Daylight Saving Time
■"Diane in Paris"
(Tues. August 9, 2011)
Thanks, Kato...I've read the above article.
This is the very best ever!
I'm going to save it and take it in more closely when I have a bit more time.
It'll be like a visit to Paris itself.
Like I mentioned to you, I'd highly recommend you see "Midnight in Paris"---one of Woody Allen's best in my opinion.
It's a magical movie that will transport you back in time in Paris.
Midnight in Paris
It is a 2011 romantic comedy/fantasy film written and directed by Woody Allen.
The plot centers on a small group of Americans visiting the French capital for business and pleasure.
The protagonist, a screenwriter, is forced to confront the shortcomings of his relationship with his fiancée and their divergent goals because of his magical experiences in the city beginning each night at 12 AM.
Produced by Spanish group Mediapro and Allen's Gravier Productions, the film stars Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Marion Cotillard, Kathy Bates, Carla Bruni, Adrien Brody and Michael Sheen.
It premiered at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival and was released in North America in May 2011.
Upon release, the film met with universal critical acclaim and emerged as a global box office success, becoming Allen's highest grossing film ever.
Paris is an amazing city in that it's probably the only city in the world that really hasn't changed much over the years.
I'm sure that it's a result of government decisions to keep it that way.
I'm glad that it's retained its beauty and style and not been taken over by highrises and such.
Thanks again for this charmer.
Love, Diane ~
So, Diane, you love Paris, don't you?
Yes, I do. Very much so.
Did you enjoy the film "Midnight in Paris"?
Oh, yes, definitely. It was marvellous and quite fascinating.
What made you so fascinated?
Well..., it's like a time-machine story. The protagonist is a male writer called Gil, who is writing his first novel. His fiancée is called Inez.
Is she pretty and charming?
Well..., whether she is beautiful or not doesn't matter, Kato. Anyway, both of them are in Paris. One night, after a wine tasting and being a little drunk, Gil walks back to his hotel through the streets of Paris, but eventually he gets lost. As he stops at a set of stairs, nearby bells chime midnight.
...sounds like a male Cinderella story, doesn't it?
Something like that, but not quite. Only midnight chime is in common.
Then what happens?
Suddenly, an antique car pulls up, and to his surprise, the passengers turn out a group of champagne-drinking party-goers dressed in 1920s clothing. They all urege Gil to join them.
Does he step into the car?
Oh, yes, of course, he does because Gil admires and idolizes the 1920s in his novel.
So, Gil has been transported to the 1920s, hasn't he?
Yes, he has. Gil encounters Cole Porter, Josephine Baker, and Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald, and they take Gil to meet Ernest Hemingway, who agrees to show Gil's novel to Gertrude Stein, and Gil goes to fetch his manuscript from his hotel. However, as soon as he leaves the bar, he finds he has returned to 2010.
Oh, that's too bad for Gil.
But not really so because the same situation happens again the following midnight when Gil attempts to bring his fiancée, Inez, to the past, but she greets his excitement with annoyance and boredom, and peevishly returns to the hotel. Just after she leaves, the clock strikes midnight and the car pulls up again, this time with Hemingway inside it. He takes Gil to meet Gertrude Stein, who agrees to read his novel and introduces him to Pablo Picasso and his's mistress Adriana, a strikingly beautiful student of couture to whom Gil is instantly attracted.
Wow!...sounds quite interesting and fascinating.
So, that's the reason I really want you to see the film, Kato.
Oh, yes, I'd love to see it.
Midnight in Paris
Trailer 2011
<iframe width="425" height="300" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/BYRWfS2s2v4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
You'd better, Kato. I'm pretty sure that you'll be fascinated as much as I was. By the way, how come you take me to Montmartre?
Well..., I was kinda fascinated by the character of Fujiko Hemming.
What makes you so intrested in her?
In a sence, her success story is like a Cinderella tale.
Why is it so?
Well..., she received many prestigious honors in her youth. At the age of 28, she went to Germany to study at the Berlin Institute of Music. During a concert in Vienna in 1971, Fujiko Hemming lost her hearing from a bout of high fever. She sank into despair and almost gave up her aspiration to become a full-fledged pianist.
Then what happened to her?
She decided to become a seamstress.
Seamstress? But why?
Well..., without hearing she considered it impossible to remain a pianist. Since she was good at sewing, she decided to work as a seamstress to earn her living.
Was she given a job offer?
Unfortunatly, she was turned down at every job interview. She had to endure hard days when she could hardly buy a loaf of bread. She even tried to commit suicide.
Did she really do that?
But she was so fond of her cats and dogs. Fujiko wondered what would happen to her pets after her death.
Those pets made her change her mind, didn't they?
Oh, yes, they did indeed. She continued to practice her piano. And then luck struck her as in a Cinderella story, and a documentary that aired in 1999 raised public interest in her music. Her subsequent debut CDs, La Campanella, were sold over two million copies.
Ingrid Fujiko Hemming
La Campanella
<iframe width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/xNzzF0M5hB0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Fujiko Hemming performed at Carnegie Hall in New York in June 2001.
I see...but, Kato, how come you brings up Fujiko Hemming and Montmartre together?
Well..., Fujiko Hemming loves Montmartre very much.
Doe she?
(To be continued)