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Film Review: Melancholia

Image: Magnolia Pictures    Text: Susie Kahlich

Leave it to Lars von Trier to make a disaster flick anything but.

One of the best things about living in Paris is that films hang around in the cinema a lot longer than they do in other major cities.  In the US, you have about 10 days to catch something on a big screen; in Paris, you have about two months.

All the better to catch the final week’s run of Lars von Trier’s Melancholia, released in Paris over the summer and winding up its run at most cinemas this coming Tuesday.

We all know by now that some films will hold up just as well on our giant television screens or even our oversized computer monitors, and so we can wait for the digital stream or DVD or however you like to get your movies.  But some films are so much better relished through the size and scope of a theater screen, through the surround-sound speaker system and through the collective experience only to be had in the company of an audience.  Melancholia is one of these films.

Melancholia is the tale of two sisters, Justine (Kirstine Dunst) and Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg), and how they each deal with the news of impending doom. Most disaster films assume the disaster is inevitable, and the story is usually one of how we go about preparing to die and, often, a story of mankind's intelligence and wit overcoming the forces of nature. The difference with Melancholia—and the shot in the arm the disaster genre needs—is that we don’t know that the disaster is inevitable.  It remains a question all the way through the film, ratcheting up the tension and giving us perhaps a more quiet but far more intense ride. Lars von Trier employs the secret of all good horror directors: the real fear is the unknown.

Max Linder Panorama

Text: Chris Holt

Max Linder Panorama is one of several classic art deco cinemas concentrated in 9th and 18th arrondissements . Unlike its landmark neighbor, the 3000 seater Rex, Max Linder has an unassuming exterior.

Built in 1912, the theatre was re-named after the French silent film pioneer Max Linder who purchased it in 1914. The theatre was renovated in 1987, preserving a beautiful art deco interior. While the decor is retro, the theatre itself has a state of the art sound system and a huge curved screen (thus the name Panorama). The result is an immersmovie-going experience and is an ideal venue seeing one of the many 3D movies to recently hit the box office.

Forum des Images

David Britain writing for VINGT Paris - photo Forum des Images

Although its location inside Forum des Halles is not the most desirable, Forum des Images is the gem of this underground maze. Nowhere else will you find such an enormously varied film agenda including 1920s silent film, contemporary art house cinema and everything in between. There is a strong emphasis on the French cinema tradition with regular screenings of films by the French masters of cinema such as Marcel Carné, Louis Malle, Jean Luc Godard and Jean Renoir.  They even offer the delightful ‘Menu Court’ – showings of short films at 1.15pm every day for €1 designed to fit into your lunch break. Upcoming film festivals include The Paris Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, the Retour du Flamme silent film festival and a retrospective of Quebecois film.

20 Movie Locations

Joanna Walsh at Badaude writing for VINGT Paris

1. Passage d'enfer, 14e: (Jean-Luc Godard's À bout de souffle)

2. Hotel Raphael, 16e (Gilles Mimouni's L'appartement)

3. rue de Lappe, 11e (Christophe Honoré's Les chansons d'amour)

4. Pont de Bir-Hakeim, 15e (Bernardo Bertolucci's Last Tango in Paris)

5. The Guignol in the Jardin des Champs Elysees (Stanley Donen's Charade)

6. Hotel du Nord (Carné's, Hotel du Nord - though he used a bridge-for-bridge sound stage reconstruction of  the Canal Saint Martin rather than the real thing)

7. Sacre Coeur, 18e (Jeunet's Amelie)

8. Parc Monceau, 8e (Canet's Ne le dis a Personne)

9. Pause Café, rue Charonne, 11e (Klapisch's Chacun Cherche son Chat)

10. Canal Saint Martin (Verneuil's Le clan des Siciliens)

11. rue de la Paix, 1er (Dassin's Rififi)

12. Chatelet Metro Station, 1er (Melville's Le samouraï)

13. Parc Buttes de Chaumont, 19e (Rohmer's the Aviator's Wife)

14. Funiculaire de Montmartre, 18e (Rivette's Celine et Julie vont en Bateau)

15. Eglise Saint-Germain-de-Charonne, 20e (Lautner's Les tontons flingueurs)

16. Eglise Saint Sulpice, 6e (Howard's The Da Vinci Code)

17. The Eiffel Tower, 7e (Malle's Zazie dans le Metro)

18. The Eiffel Tower, 7e (Crichton's The Lavender Hill Mob)

19. The Eiffel Tower, 7e (Ivory's Le Divorce)

20. The Eiffel Tower, 7e (Lumiere's Panorama Pendant l'Ascension de la Tour Eiffel)

Studio Galande: In Response to ‘20 Cinémas’

Will Hutchins writing for I V Y paris

In the recent 20 cinémas post there was a glaring omission that I strongly believe needs to be brought to justice. As I occasionally write for the site I thought I wouldn’t limit myself to a small comment under the post itself but instead present my case below as to why Studio Galande in the 5ème should be in IVY’s list of the top 20 cinemas in Paris.

Ok, so the building itself may not be as architecturally beautiful as the magnificent Pagode (an authentic Japanese pagoda erected at the turn of the last century by the owner of Bon Marché as a dancehall for his wife) but even in a city chock-a-block with distinctive art house venues this one screen cinema’s idiosyncratic selection of films still manages to make it a rather unique establishment in Paris, particularly if you are a fan of doing ‘the time warp’. Again and again and again. For here at Studio Galande tucked down the Latin Quarter side street of rue Galande the cult classic of all cult classics ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’ plays every Friday and Saturday night.

20 Cinémas

1. Lucernaire, 6e
2. Le Nouveau Latina, 4e
3. Le cinéma le Brady l'Albatros, 2e
4. L'Arlequin, 6e
5. l'Entrepôt, 14e
6. Action Christine, 6e
7. Le Balzac, 8e
8. Max Linder Panorama, 9e
9. Le Zèbre de Belleville, 11e
10. La Pagode, 7e
11. Le Champo, 5e
12. Cinéma du Panthéon, 5e
13. Cinq Caumartin, 10e
14. L'Archipel, 13e
15. Mistral, 14e
15. Cinéma Le Quartier Latin, 5e
16. Le Racine Odéon, 6e
17. Action Ecoles, 5e
18. Les Trois Luxembourg, 6e
19. Majestic Bastille, 11e
20. Studio 28, 18

Photo: Le Champo by Kevin Littlefield

A Time Warp at Studio Galande

If you're looking to celebrate Halloween here in Paris, head over to Studio Galande for a screening of the Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Two different casts re-enact scenes in front of a projection of Jim Sharman's cult film, decked out as the characters.

The audience is also welcome to participate and asked to bring items such as rice ( to throw at Brad and Janet's wedding ), toilet paper, rubber gloves, a bottle of water...

Dress as yourself. Garters not required.

Fridays and Saturdays at 10:10 pm.
Entry: 7,80 euros

Studio Galande
42 rue Galande
75005 Paris

JM Video, Your Personal Short Film Distributor

In a city that is as fiercely passionate about cinema as Paris, the choice of video rental places is no small thing.

Among the various film rental shops JM Video is one of the oldest and offers one of the better collections for hard to find films. But what makes them our pick for one of the best video shops is their court-métrage program.

JM Video accepts short films from any director (that means you) out there, as long as the film is on a dvd, playable in PAL format, and has a cover jacket with a description of the film.

These films are  available for lending to all patrons of JM Video for free, with an online forum to discuss the films. Just imagine, your film could be watched by dozens of snobby cinephiles!

JM Video also mentions that it's possible to obtain some financial support from CNC (centre nationale de la cinematopgraphie) up to 48,000 euros!

Le Festival International de Films de Femmes

Pamela Price writing for I V Y Paris

There is nothing sexier than women and men coming together to celebrate the art of femininity. Take Eve Ensler's, The Vagina Monologues... comme ça.

Women artists are creating art which covers the human spectrum of insecurities, romance, careers, to name a few. These issues come to life when they are communicated through film.

What better opportunity to experience this than at the 30th anniversary of Le Festival International de Films de Femmes.

For thirty years, women from all around the world have collaborated and contributed their film projects. They meet once a year in Paris.
Every year there are new filmmakers and new issues for panel discussions.

François-Truffaut Cinema Library

The new François-Truffaut cinema library in the Forum des Halles, is part of the architectural project “avenue du Cinéma” which also includes the redesigned Forum des Images cinema. 

It was always one of my favourite hide-aways in the middle of Paris if I had a couple of hours to spare and I've missed it ever since it closed over a year ago (You could buy a book of 10 tickets for 35 euros, rifle through the slightly databased archives then slip on your headphones and settle into your darkened viewing booth).

Collections on cinema have been moved from the André-Malraux municipal library (bad luck for I V Y paris as it was round the corner from us). 

The new centre will become part of the network of Paris’s amazing FREE municipal libraries: open to the public and offering free admission and a lending service for documents.  Even if you just come here for a week you can access the library for FREE (did I mention that?). 

Access to Paris' specialized librairies is available to everyone. To enroll is pretty simple (for once). For a library card you must just provide identification (a passport or whatnot...)

Photo: © I.C.Rapoport