le cinéma français

In my 'about me' I perceive myself as a Francophile. This is evidence lot number one.  

On the back end of Cannes it seems a wise idea to talk about an infatuation (obsession) I have with la cinéma français (parce que c'est le meilleur, non?) 

Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Should I say more? Where else could a love of French cinema evolve from.. vivid imagery, imagination gone wild and poetic story lines, mirroring that of a life well lived in the land of snails and frogs legs, amongst other things. Before long it was about Juliette Binoche, Philippe Claudel, Fabrice Luchini and being amazed at Kristin Scott Thomas' plethora of talent, no matter the language of the script and story she is acting out. 

It began as a need to be fluent in French, something that is still a constant, and hating the academic way of learning by doing repetitive exercises instead there was a want to feel absorbed and completely immersed in the language. By all means, it was not that alone that lead me to French cinema, it was a means to escape and getting out of doing things, being where I wanted to be for that 118 minutes or whatever.

It was in fact this film that made my heart leap out my chest for the artistry of the French way of film making. Il y a longtemps que je t'aime. A superbly written and acted film, a heart wrenching story unfolding of an unloved, restricted life due to decisions made and worked out. Before watching this I was unaware of the powerfulness of silence in film, the way it can draw emotion out of the audience, a tear drop splashes on to a quivering lip before realising how absorbed you are by one woman's actions. 

Never mind how blasé the French come across in some parts of life, they have a real understanding of story telling and presenting an audience with relatable unassuming people for you to spy on, because most of the time I find myself feeling like I am looking through a peephole into the lives of others. This of course may come across as a humongous generalisation and yes, it probably is because I cannot be certain whether or not there are actually vampires in Paris, comme Paris, je t'aime. 

The point I am trying to make is basically, watch French films.