The Academy Award–nominated film Persepolis is back, this time in English!

Well, it's not actually back yet, but it will be in a few weeks. On April 11, an English-language version of Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis will hit the big screen. So, if you missed it the first time because you don't like subtitles, you have no excuse not to see it this time around. (Of course, if you missed it the first time around because you were just too lazy or busy and you would rather have seen it in French with subtitles, you're out of luck. But you still get to see it, so, really, you're still better off.)

I'm not a big fan of dubbed movies, but this seems like it will work. First, given that it's animated, the voices won't be out of sync with the actors lips — which is really the worst thing about dubbing.

Second, some of the original cast recorded the English version as well as the French. Catherine Deneuve is the mother in both versions, and her real-life daughter, Chiara Mastroianni, is the adolescent and adult version of Marjane in both versions. So you still get to hear the loveliness that is Catherine Deneuve, even if you missed the original. … continue reading

Yesterday ... er, two days ago (see, I'm still in a post-holiday fog), I posted the first half of what I watched over the break. Here's the rest.

8. Little Children

As a Kate Winslet fan, I was really looking forward to this one. But by the end, I was disappointed and even a little annoyed. The characters seem to create their own problems and not really learn anything from their experiences. And I'm not sure Winslet was the right choice for the role — not that I minded seeing her naked!

Here's a clip of Winslet shocking the other moms at the playground: … continue reading

The nominations for the 35th annual Annie Awards were announced this morning. Never heard of the Annie Awards? They recognize the year's best animation in several categories, from film and TV to video games and commercials.

This year's Best Animated Feature nominees include fairly obvious choices ilke Bee Movie, Ratatouille and The Simpsons Movie. But I'm more interested in a little gem called Persepolis.

Persepolis is based on the graphic novels (essentially a memoir in two parts) by Marjane Satrapi, who grew up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. Satrapi now lives and works in France, and Persepolis features the voices of two French national treasures, Catherine Deneuve and her daughter Chiara Mastroianni. If you're not already fascinated, take a look at this stunning trailer: … continue reading

I was on vacation in New York a couple of weeks ago, when I noticed a film due to screen that evening on the Sundance Channel. Titled French Beauty, it was a documentary on Gallic actresses that took as its premise that "As essential to France's mystique as its wines, haute couture and cuisine is its place as the defining home of female beauty."

Well, no disagreement here. I've often wondered what it is that they are putting in the water to make French actresses so consistently, yet uniquely, ravishing. While the documentary didn't succeed in answering this question, it did get me thinking over some of my favorite French actresses and also reflecting on how many of them seem to have featured in films with either an overtly lesbian or a homoerotic theme.

First there was Catherine Deneuve in 1983's The Hunger.

Deneuve would also go on to star in the 2002 musical mystery 8 Women/8 Femmes, where she has a sexually charged relationship not only with her sister-in-law, played by Fanny Ardant, but also her maid, played by Emmanuelle Béart. … continue reading

So I was cruising the photos of the beautiful and bizarre at Cannes again (FYI, Sharon Stone: immortal glamour goddess from the front, still above average yet mortal 49-year-old from the back), when I stumbled across this vision of perfection: Catherine Deneuve and her daughter Chiara Mastroianni.

Yowza. With a little research (thank you, Google), I learned that Chiara is the daughter of Deneuve and Marcello Mastroianni and an actress in her own right. OK, fine, her credits include roles in movies like Hillbilly Chainsaw Massacre and characters described as “S&M Girl #1,” but we can’t all be Catherine Deneuve. Still, she was at Cannes with her mother promoting their parts in the animated feature Persepolis, so good for her. … continue reading