September 2011 October 2011 November 2011
December 2011 January 2012 February 2012
March 2012 April 2012
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| Dr House is as successful in France as it is in the rest of the world. Far be it from me to wonder how a minor British comic becomes a star of an American medical sitcom. The series is screened in prime-time on TF1, the most popular of the French channels. And that means the dubbing studio takes some trouble with it. Hence lines like Alors, comme ça, vous pensez qu'avec Wilson, on s'astique mutuellement le jonc, hein ? They don't teach you French like that at Uni, do they ? | Ah yes, the ideal honeymoon on Bora Bora, in French Polynesia - and in the best hotel, the Four Seasons. And why not ? Linguistically, this is typical of so many of our clips - the voice over is crystal clear, but the happy couple speak as young people speak - indistinctly. Learning to understand that register of speech is what it's all about | |
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| Mourir d'aimer is at once a good film and an excellent exercise for us. It stars Muriel Robin and is based on the affaire Gabrielle Russier, For a French person it is not difficult - the voices are very ordinary - those of a teacher and her pupil. For us the delivery of Muriel Robin is fast and often indistinct - and that of the sixteen year old boy .. well.. | I said back in March that nothing illustrates the difference between French and Anglo-Saxon cultures better than a comparison of our two justice systems. Here is a Procureur de la République (or at any rate an assistant Procureur), interviewing a man accused of sexual aggression. It's this desire to understand the criminal that astonishes. Don't we just lock 'em up and throw away the key ? | |
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| What to say about our colonial past in Africa ? LCP did an excellent documentary on Jean-Bedel Bokassa, part joking, past horrified by this aspect of Françafrique. Well, we had Idi Amin - and he wasn't a joke at all. Here is the coronation of Emperor Bokassa I | Every so often I revisit the enormous collection of comedy recordings I've made over five years to find another typical example of French humour - which is magnificent, but rather different from the Anglo-Saxon brand. It is rarely 'blue' but very often offensive. Here is Jonathan Lambert who does a one hour show in which he develops a theme rather than offering individual sketches. In this one he has met a young lady 'goth', and describes how he goes to meet her parents and have a meal with them. A rather special meal... | |
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| The RMS Titanic struck an iceberg and started to sink on the 14th April 1912. Here was a - very French - discussion of the subject from Yves Calvi's chat show C'est dans l'air. An impassioned discussion in which there was general agreement that the shipwreck was marked by a certain élégance. But was it, asks Yves Calvi, really un naufrage réussi ? | Empreintes is a France 5 programme that does documentary portraits of cultural figures. This was on Claude Rich, a very considerable French actor. Here's an extract with some examples of his work, and, as a bonus, a few seconds of Françoise Sagan | |
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| RTL9 screened a television film Beaucoup de bruit pour rien, which of course is Much ado about nothing - or more precisely a light romance vaguely based on the play. It is actually better than you might expect with some light, frothy and fast-paced dialogue, and amusing scenes. | Warehouse13 is an American TV series which mixes government agents and the supernatural. It is nicely ironic and a good time is had by all. Linguistically it is a little difficult because the American English is fast-paced, and the dubbing actors do a faithful job. What would we do without them ? | |
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| Here is a rather splendid documentary on Disneyland Paris. At one time the French had a slightly snobbish attitude to this attraction which they regarded as American and vulgar. But it is now their number 1 tourist attraction - and as for vulgar... well, in France, dress-making is always haute couture | It's easy to get into the habit of recording the same channels all the time, so I am grateful to Melanie for directing me to the big musical talent contest currently running on TF1 'The Voice - la plus belle voix de France'. Trendy presenter, laid-back professional singers as 'coaches', young singers - all that adds up to a pretty stiff listening exercise, with some expressions that I had never heard before. This is a long extract - eleven minutes, because I had to let you hear them singing, hadn't I ? At the end of the contest we'll go back to see who has won. | |
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| This was Roméo et Juliette. That French high school kids should perdorm their own Romeo and Juliet is not surprising - Shakespeare is the playwright most often performed in France. But this was to be at a great Paris theatre, and the director the celebrated Alain Sachs. So it was a reality show with a difference. Juliet was played by Anaïs, a very sweet 17 year old who we see learning her lines and musing on life, love and Romeo. I enjoyed it, and I hope you do too. | France 3 gave us the Affair of the Avions renifleurs, just about as bizarre a story as you could imagine. A group of conmen persuaded the French government that they had invented a system to 'sniff out' oil deposits from a plane flying overhead. I have put together a couple of scenes from this astonishing story to show how it started - and how it ended. | |
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| We finish April with a clip for music lovers. This is Hélène Grimaud, one of the world's top concert pianists. I often say here that France, (although still a rather machiste country,) produces more than its fair share of remarkable women. Hélène Grimaud is certainly remarkable. Born in Aix-en-Provence, she speaks English like an American - the best I have ever heard. She runs a foundation for wolves in New York State. She thinks, and speaks, fast - I had to listen to almost each sentence twice in order to follow her. This clip starts with the concert she gave in London - one of our BBC Promenade Concerts - on 11 September 2001. It's a long clip because I had to include her playing, and even speaking that amazing English. A great pleasure... | ||
