Last night I watched the film Paris by director Cédric Klapisch. This film hasn’t been released for the English speaking market so I got an import copy. All of the text on the packaging is in French and there is no English audio, just an option for English subtitles. Even though the video is in the PAL format I could watch it on my iBook. However I did need to switch to Region 2 for this DVD. That was the first time I’ve had to do that.
Paris [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import – France ]: Albert Dupontel, Fabrice Luchini, François Cluzet, Gilles Lellouche, Juliette Binoche, Karin Viard, Maurice Bénichou, Mélanie Laurent, Romain Duris, Zinedine Soualem, Cedric Klapisch, CategoryArthouse, CategoryFrance, film movie Foreign, film movie France French: Movies & TVThe movie follows the lives of various characters living in Paris, France and provides some excellent views of the city. The Tour Montparnasse, the Eiffel Tower, and of course Haussmann’s bourgeois apartments are seen in many location shots. As I was watching this film, I realized that I should not plan to walk everywhere because the city is actually huge. Like most politically correct French films, some North African Parisians were given a token storyline in the movie. This film was released last year 2008 so it provides some insight into the current trends. For example, the professor text messages his student. I’ve heard that text messaging is very popular in France now. There were also a few scenes in a boulangeries (bakery) which provided some confirmation of how customers should greet the owner of an establishment. In other words, if you are planning a vacation in Paris you’ll find this film somewhat helpful.
Yesterday I went downtown to see a movie at the Cinema Center of Williamsport. This was the first time I’ve been to that theater. It is across the street from the Sun-Gazette. I parked near Lycoming College and had to walk many blocks but I saw that I could park in the nearby strip mall. I saw the movie The Watchmen and the trailers for the new Terminator and Star Trek films which look like they’ll be awesome.
On Friday, I had to drive out to the FedEx office to pick up a package they would not leave on my doorstep without a signature. I thought it would be my plane tickets but it turned out to be some euros which I bought online. You can use your credit card to get foreign currency at https://www.foreignexchangeservices.com/. According to my Paris For Dummies book, airport ATMs are notorious for being broken when you need them the most, so I figured I would need some cash as soon as my boots hit the ground. I’m supposed to be picked up by Trafalgar Tours because I was billed for airport transfers but I know better than to not have a back up plan.
