Showing posts with label French. Show all posts
Showing posts with label French. Show all posts

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Summer Cleaning

I'm fucking tired. I only had 1hr sleep last night, i feel asleep just as my alarm went off to wake up. Full cleaning today at Jwow. It was like those TV shows where they turn a bomb stricken house into something brand spanking new. Floor boards look nice and since the wine's out, everything is so much more spacious. I was so tired i fell asleep on the State Library Lawns and got bitten by more mosquitos.
Mosquito Bite Tally: 009
I needed a ride home from Waterg's. I call mum who tells me to take the bus. What's the point in offering rides if you're just gonna tell me to take the bus??? I decide to go to vman's house which is closer than my house. It will take me about 20minutes to walk. The Bus leaves in 20minutes. So i decide to walk. Its 27 degrees, spitty with rain, humid, cloudy/gloomy but hot. My clothes are drenched in sweat. I keep looking behind me to see if any weirdos are following me. I'm so paranoid, I can't help it. I walk through a small alley way, the kind of alley way where girls get raped. This man is walking behind me. He takes the same turns as I do. I think he's following me, but I've got my phone in hand and I put away my ipod so I can hear his steps. He wolf whistles at me, I turn a corner. He disappears.
I walk past a house, there is a man smoking outside. He says 'Ni Hao', Mandarin for 'hello'. I ignore him. He says it louder as I pass 'Ni hao!'. Ignore.
I find out im walking around in circles. I got confused with Hume Drive and Kings Road they look the same, fucking. I found out I did a U-y around the train station, and another around Rose Hedge Park. I pass the same walker twice, except I wasn't walking for exercise, I was LOST!! What should've taken me 20 minutes took me 40. My tummy, chest and back are sweating. I get to vmans house, eat a large slice of lasagna, watch 1 eposoide of the Simpsons and Futurama ( I Love Leela) and conk out on vman's bed. I hate vman's bed. I wake up miserable with neck or back pains. I don't know how one can get used to it. I'll shut up with my complaining now that I've gotten it out. I got paid today, WOO. I downloaded my second movie. It's called Tais-Toi a french comedy about two people who escape from prison. I'm downloading a few other movies. One called Delicatessen (really looking forward to it). and I wanna watch City of Lost Children. These two movies have something in common:
black/dark comedy, surrealism, horror, fantasy, experimental
Check this song out, James played it at Jwow today. It's so smooth and sexy. Something you slow walk too down a pier on during a summer sunset in nothing but high heels, white bikini with shiny gold trimming, loosely covered with a white sarong that reveals sexy tanned skin with the gentle blow of the wind. Curren$y - Famous

Monday, July 12, 2010

France and the French

I am watching the movie Amelie for the 3rd time. I want to familiarise myself with the language, scenery and people. I hope to learn some basic French. If i am exposed to enough French culture and language i my be able to learn something useful. The movie was set on location in Montmatre, there is a scene in St. Martins Canal too. These two places we will be visiting. Its so beautiful in the movies, and so are the characters too. I hope that this portrayal is true, althought i doubt that. One should never take movies as reality.
I love this movie so much that i went to the imdb.com website and looked up trivial facts about the movie:
The part of Amélie was written specifically for Emily Watson. She wanted the part but had to decline because she didn't speak French and had already agreed to be in Gosford Park(2001).

Director Trademark: [Jean-Pierre Jeunet] [actor] Dominique Pinon. The photo booth picture collection is based on a real collection created by a friend of director Jean-Pierre Jeunet. He is credited during the ending credits ("D'après la collection originale de Michel Folco"). A faux photo booth picture collection, with, among others, Tchéky Karyo, was created for the film, so that the rights to the real collection did not have to be purchased.

Whenever this film was shot on location, Jean-Pierre Jeunet and the crew would clean the area of debris, grime, trash and graffiti, so that the film would match his fantasy more so. This was an especially difficult task when it came time to shoot at the huge train station.

Director Trademark: [Jean-Pierre Jeunet] [orphans] death of Amélie's mother. An orphan is considered to have lost both parents. As Amélie's father is still alive, she is not considered an orphan. However, Jean-Pierre Jeunet often portrays children who have suffered the loss of one or both parents.

Jean-Pierre Jeunet originally started collecting the stories and memories that make up the story in 1974.

The artwork in Amélie's bedroom (the dog with collar, the white bird) and her crocodile imaginary friend are by artist Michael Sowa.

Some of the locations in the film can be found in Montmartre. The café "Les 2 Moulins" can be found at the beginning of Rue Lepic and the vegetable/fruit store "Collignon" at 56 Rue des Trois Frères.

The main colors in the film (green, yellow and red) are inspired by the paintings of the Brazilian artist Juarez Machado.

The traveling gnome was inspired by a rash of similar pranks played in England and France in the 1990s. In 1997, a French court convicted the leader of Front de Libération des Nains de Jardins (Garden Gnome Liberation Front) of stealing over 150 gnomes. The idea was later used in an advertising campaign for an Internet travel agency.

Voted #2 in Australia's Favourite Movie poll.

When Amélie goes to Mr Collignon's parents, the father, who makes holes in flowers, says he'd rather make these holes into lilacs. This is a direct reference to French singer Serge Gainsbourg's song "Le poinçonneur des Lilas".
This movie reminds me of another french movie. Its about an orphan house controlled by two women in one body (two heads, 4 arms, 4 legs) who train flies to sting orphans in the neck to make them into slaves. This orphan girl with the help of a strong circus man helps to over take the evil ladies and save her orphan friends. oh look i just found it on imdb.com its called 'The City of Lost Children' and it does have a surrealist influence on the aesthetics. i need to find this movie and watch it =] what a coincedence, it is shot by the same director as Amelie. interesting.
A conversation of the two main characters in the film, Miette a young smart orphan child and One a strong man who cannot talk fluently. One talks about his old job and his younger brother Denree.
Miette: One? [One grunts] Miette: You asleep? [One breathes deeply and mumbles] Miette: What did you do before? One: One sailor. Harpooned Whales. One night [pauses] One: One hear whales singing. After [gestures throwing of harpoon] One: always always the target I miss. One loses job. Miette: One? [pauses] Miette: What's it like to have a little brother? One: Keeps you [pauses] One: running. Miette: Well, he can't complain he's got nobody to worry about him. One: [Turns over] Denree- little brother. Miette- little sister. [Blows air on Miette's back] Miette: What are you doing? One: [Whispers in Miette's ear] Radiator
Haha! Love. Love. Love.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112682/plotsummary

Monday, June 14, 2010

@ ze movies

I hate going to the movies simply for the price of a movie ticket. remember the days when they used to be $5 every tuesday? now they are as high as $14.50 for a student ticket, $16+ for an adult and $19+ for a 3D movie ticket. fucking full of shit that is when u can rent 5 weekly dvd's for $6.95 at VideoEzy.
anyways, vince has always loved paying a rip for movie tickets so today i agreed to go. he was always raving on about watching Prince of Persia and Robin Hood in cinema. i have rejected this idea as a possibility until i found out Prince of Persia was directed by the same guys who did Pirates of the Caribeean. WOW! i love that movie. so off we went for the 7pm session at Village Cinemas, Sunshine.
we had to stop by for some toasted kebabs at Ballarat road 1st, then get some drinks at Safeway.
The movie started off good. Really suspensful and kept me on the edge of my seat, lifting my scarf to cover my eyes and mouth when the scary/violent parts were happening. but towards the middle i found the plot unbelieving. How and why would the young king believe Dust'an so easily after Dust'an was accused of killing their father?? and how and why would the princess fall in love with Dust'an within minutes of meeting him?? I wouldn't. he's not even that hot. i wish they got someone else to play the main character.
Overall the film was OKAY. but meh, i couldve waited for it to come on dvd.
Yesterday i spent 2hours+ in Borders, Melbourne Central reading up on France and London and searching for bargain books. I have learnt a couple of phrases in french:
  • Good day - Bonjour
  • Good evening - Bonsiour
  • Please - Siv'il plea
  • Mr./Miss - Misour/Madame
here are some facts i learnt yesterday about france:
  • almost all businesses close from 12:30pm - 2:30pm for a lunch break
  • 1AUD = 1euro
  • a cost of one crossoint is 1.20euro
  • the french find it arrogant of tourists who dont acknowledge the french language e.g. if you speak to them in english
  • majority of french people are not vegiterians
  • it is illegal to smoke in public
  • it is highly recommended to book accommodation in advance when visiting Paris
  • Gypsy pick-pocketers distract you while they take your belongings and tend to appear near tourist destinations like the Effiel Tower and the Lourve
  • graveyards are regular walking places, almost like parks
  • catching public transport into the city from the airport is much cheaper than catching a cab
  • there are few nightclubs in Paris due to the tendency for people to have house parties
  • Paris was 1st establised in the 13th century (i think) by a group of people called Parisii
i skimmed through 3 Paris travel books. i bought a book $3 titled 'Death and Celebrities' a true crime book telling the stories of celebrities backgrounds, families, successes and deaths. and a lonely planet book listing all the countries in the world complete with photographs, trademarks and a to-do list for $13.75 from $54.99 =D