learn french

I’ve done 2 semesters of French classes now in uni. It’s an ongoing goal, I am marking it done for now. I will continue to read more french books and watch french movies. :)

L’Annulaire (The Ring Finger)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0411117/

A pretty girl with a faraway sort of look always, a pair of very pretty red shoes, a strange mad scientist kind of guy who perserves spicemens of all kinds and an old building that seems to have endless rooms…C’est très bizarre…

I overheard a couple behind me said as the end credits rolled:
Man: “so did anything actually happened?”
Woman: “Well… I think something did happen, but we probably missed it…”

That sums it up pretty well I guess. The female lead was no unconventional beauty but she’s quite charismatic and dreamy. It deals with the meaning of memories, loss, grief and recovery. A quote that I did remember from the film was something like “the job of the specimen is to preserve, store and forget”. It’s an very open ended film and requires a great deal of imagination and thought. The cinematography was beautiful. And I am tempted to get myself a pair of those pretty red shoes…

I just typed up this huge long thing and clicked preview instead of save…then forgot I clicked preview instead of save. LOL Ah well, take 2…

Entre ses mains (In his hands)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0443072/usercomments

Girl in boring job, girl has loving husband and beautiful although slightly troubled child, girl met intriguiging man, girl struggles with her desires, emotions and fears. While a serial killer is running amock in the city.

It’s a highly emotional film for me, and I almost walked out of th cinema half way through. It does not mean this is not a good movie, it IS. It was just close to home for me. The dialogues are so familiar to me I almost knew what he was going ot say next before he said it. I felt for her struggles, her loney childhood, her desires and yearning for intensity and excitement vs her fears… The chemistry between the 2 lead actors is intense and the acting was supurb. It is a film worth watching and it keeps you guessing to the very end.

Les Chevaliers du ciel (Sky Fighter)
http://www.leschevaliers-lefilm.com/site/intro.html
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0421974/

Stolen Mirage 2000, conspiracies, terrorism, secret “special missions”, beautiful fighter planes doing beautiful “dances” over breathtaking sceneries, lots of things blowing up and plenty of laughs. What’s there not to like…

I only watched this film as a favour to a male friend of mine who has so kindly agreed to watch 4 other french film with me (which are mostly drama and romantic comedy). I thought ok, if he has to sit through 4 romcoms, I should at least sit through one brainless action flick. Well, it wasn’t brainless and it was surprisingly entertaining. From first glance at the poster and brochure, I thought this was some sort of “Top Gun” copycat… but after the first 5 minutes of the film I realised “Top Gun” just cannot compare. It did NOT have things blowing up, sex and nudity, or romances JUST to sell tickets. Don’t get me wrong, things, plenty of things blew up but everything tied in nicely to move the story along at a fast pace. The hint of romance was not tagged on (as it felt as it was in Top Gun) but mainly served to enrich the characters and stories. The cinematography and special affects left me wondering how they did some of the shots. I knew nothing of fighter planes, I was not a fan of action flicks, BUT I did enjoy this movie. :)

The French Film Festival, 2006 is happening in March, in Sydney! (http://www.frenchfilmfestival.org/) I am going to 10 films this year over 2 and half weeks.

I bought the dummy’s guide to French Vocab, and play it when I am falling asleep on my ipod. It actually works great! :)

And I have been watching 1 to 3 french movies a week. It’s great to realise I am picking up more and more words.

Oh and the “French Podclass” (search “french podclass” in podcasts on your itune) is amazing. Thank you so very much Sebetian.

Had my first French Speaking test the other night and it went quite well. :)

I have been watching a few French movies the last couple of weeks, at the French Film Festival in Sydney (http://www.frenchfilmfestival.org) And things, especially pronounciations seems easier now.

ouch… They better be worth it.

I am starting my first French class tonight. :) Nervous, but excited