French

Five Reasons To Go See: Phoenix

Under-rated alt-rock French sorts comed to Glasgow

15 Oct 2009

1. They’re fashionably unfashionable Throughout the course of four staggeringly brief but perfectly formed albums Phoenix have proved themselves masters of a studied laissez-faire and baffling nuanced lyrics rendering them thus far impervious to the…

Inside

A rare French gorefest

2 Oct 2009

During the filming of Inside, Béatrice Dalle would hide herself under a hoodie, so upset was she that people would deign to look at her when not looking her best. OK, the character she plays (‘The Woman’) has just had half her face blasted away during…

Mesrine: Killer Instinct (l’Instinct de Mort)

30 Jul 2009

Tracing a line from Mesrine’s disillusioning military service during the Algerian war to the beginning of his notoriety in 1972 (when he graduated to murder), the first instalment of this epic crime tale is derivative, energetic and hugely…

Food For Thought - Patrick Bardoulet

9 Jul 2009

I am from Paris, the focus of many of the celebrations associated with Bastille Day, 14 July. It’s a national holiday, so there’s the chance to enjoy breakfast – in Paris this will be a baguette and coffee or chocolate. It sounds disgusting to the…

Gardens in Autumn

11 Jun 2009

Anyone who’s seen Monday Morning by the Georgian Otar Iosseliani will know he is a filmmaker with a great sense of drift. He’s not interested in plot, but great on spatial texture, ably explored by the great cameraman William Lubtchansky. In Monday…

Phoenix: Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

14 May 2009

Phoenix are really rather brilliant, it’s just a shame more people don’t know it. Criminally underrated for most of their career, the French quartet return with this fourth effort; which, cringey title aside, is by far their most accomplished and…

Yann Tiersen

30 Apr 2009

French avant garde musician and composer Yann Tiersen is famed for composing the score to the movie Amélie. Favouring the piano, accordion and violin, he’s also been known to have a tinkle on the typewriter when it takes his fancy. The 38-year-old has…

Charles Burns - Fear(s) of the Dark

16 Oct 2008

The wildly imaginative and scary animated French portmanteau horror movie Fear(s) of the Dark was made by six European and American cartoonists working with professional animators. The most notable of those cartoonists is Charles Burns, who is a legend…

Fear(s) of the Dark

16 Oct 2008

ANIMATION/MYSTERY The Gallic term ‘outre’, meaning beyond or excessive, perfectly describes this imaginatively conceived and immaculately executed French language portmanteau horror. Much of its impact is derived from its unique nature: the…

Giffnock Ivy

7 Aug 2008

For the price of a £5 train ticket, Glaswegians can enjoy a dining experience to rival those found in the stylish restaurants of Paris. Well, according to the new management of the Giffnock Ivy, that is, which aims to ‘bring the tastes, smells and…