City of Lights, Camera, Action!

Living not just in Paris, and not just in the center of Paris, but in the heart of the center of Paris, I often feel like I am living in a movie set. And, it turns out, I am. Most of the photos for this blog were taken "by accident;" that is, I saw the spot, found it magical, took the photo, and it is only as I put this posting together that I now realize that many of them are, indeed, famous film locations. The others just should be.

My friend Fabrice who lives in the 5th, right off the famous rue Mouffetard, tells me that during the filming of Julie & Julia, the street was re-done, at great effort and rather convincingly, a la 1920s. And then, at the end, brought back to the 21st century. Below is a promotional photo for the movie, taken from http://cinema.jeuxactu.com/test-dvd-zone-2-julie-et-julia-8583.htm. Below that is what I think might be the same spot (church steps on the right, far yellow building down the hill, general location of the cafe, and just look at the placement of those bittes -- the round stone pillars that keep cars off the pedestrian area). I know some of the big buildings on the left side of the street are different but am thinking they've been photoshopped in.

One thing I do know, is that the spot in my three photos above -- the square at Eglise St. Etienne du Mont with its neighboring alley and cobblestone street -- is definitely the critical place in the recent Woody Allen film Midnight in Paris. The first time I came across this spot, I had this eerie feeling of déja-vu, and I've since looked it up to verify that this is, indeed, the magic spot in the movie. It wouldn't have taken much movie wizardry to make this spot feel magical. Standing in this spot, it's impossible not to wish you could go back in time and see Paris in its different époques (eras).

Below is a photo taken one day while I am chaperoning P's class to the pool for their weekly swim lesson. I take the photo because I think it's such a lovely art-deco building, because I love the turqouise color, because I think I might do a posting someday about her swim class, or because I love the fact that one of the grandmothers who is also chaperoning tells me that she learned to swim in this pool -- the Piscine Pontoise, in the 5th -- and so did her mother, and so did her grandmother. That makes at least five generations learning to swim in this same stunning pool. And if that's not enough to make somebody want to take a photo or write a blog posting, I can't imagine what would do it. Well, it turns out this pool is famous as the pool in the Kieslowski film Bleu where Juliette Binoche swims.

Another spot I've photographed many times now is the Eglise (church) St. Severin in the 5th. This is partly because G has her school choir concert there, and partly because I think a movie should be filmed in the courtyard, though I don't know if one already has been.

 

All the spots listed above are in the 5th arrondissement. The spots below are in the 4th -- just on the other side of the Seine. I can't tell you a specific film for any of these spots, only that when I walk through them, I feel like I'm in a movie. I walk the cobbled street of rue des Barres in the photo just below every week many times when I head up to the heart of the Marais (and G's dance lessons). And every single time, it makes me happy. Genuinely, song-in-my-heart, smile-on-my-face, bounce-in-my-step happy. It takes me by one of the oldest (arguably the oldest) medeival colombage residence in Paris and leads me by Eglise St.-Gervais-St.-Protais down through the alley. It is, as you have probably surmised, one of my favorite spots in all of Paris.

And once I get to the other side, and to the square in front of the Hotel de Ville, there has been for many months now one, or even two, great old-fashioned carousels. You can see Notre Dame in the background. The carousels are not permanent but apparently come back every year (or several times each year). I can't tell if I think this scene should be part of a family film, or action/suspense.

Just across a different bridge heading into the Marais, from Ile St. Louis, is this lovely old building below. Built around the year 1500, it is now the Bibliothèque Forney, an art-and-architecture library (with occasional exhibits) on the impossibly-named rue des Nonnains d'Hyères. I think it is just a matter of time before Kate Winslet is walking this garden, laced up in a corset.

An old friend of mine was here on a business trip from Sweden a few days ago, and we spent many hours in a brasserie (restaurant, but more French) on Ile St. Louis called the St. Régis. This photo really does not do it justice at all. The ambience is so perfect, Thomas actually looked over at the door at one point and said, "I keep expecting Jean Reno to walk in" -- Jean Reno being one of most famous and classically French-seeming of all the French actors, despite the fact that he was born in Morocco. His credits include Mission:Impossible, Hotel Rwanda, Pink Panther 2, the Da Vinci Code, and way too many other films to list. The St. Régis may not have as many films to its name, but it should. One morning I heard a screech, a crash, and the sound of glass shattering and turned the corner to see a car plowed into some outdoor cafe tables -- for a movie scene, of course.

(Photo of Jean Reno from http://www.premiere.fr/Star/Jean-Reno-79540)

I have been thinking about writing this posting for the past few days and just started on Friday night to gather these photos. I did think at that time, with a little regret, "I wish I had some photos of an actual shoot going on." So, naturally, Saturday morning, we have some friends over for brunch, and at one point somebody looks out the window and says, "What is that model doing?" Well, I grab my camera and run out and I can tell you that what she is doing: She is making love to a bass cello while freezing her ass off. Although, coming from the emaciated-tall-and-skinny school of modeling, she doesn't have much of an ass to start with.

You can see in the top right photo here that there's a real band playing. I assume the crew came out for a fashion shoot without props and then they themselves were inspired by the surroundings. They borrowed the bass cello from the band that was busking on the bridge (making it a "busking bridge band-borrowed bass:" say that five times fast). Anthony and the girls and I are trying to guess what it's an ad for: clothes? shoes? make up? perfume? frozen chicken patties? It could really be anything.

Amazingly, since I published this posting this morning, I already have a new shot to add. G just looked out our window on Ile St. Louis and exclaimed, "They're filming a movie!" A mysterious and moody woman in dark sunglasses and scarf just got into this Bentley (I think: I'm no car person...). Here, the man by the side of the car is holding a small camera, continuing to shoot her looking, presumably, mysterious and moody inside the back seat.

There are, of course, too many other spots and films I could include. I haven't even touched the Louvre or the Eiffel Tower. They're not right out my doorstep, after all. But if I'm too lazy to go visit them in person, I can always see them on the silver screen.

Interested in touring Paris sites used as locations in films? Here are some links for you:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2011/jun/03/top-10-films-on-paris
http://www.filmaps.com/france/paris/
http://www.movie-locations.com/places/europe/france.html