About the French Film Festival

 I have been around a reasonable amount of French entertainment but I did not really approach it with a "studying eye" I pretty much just watched movies or TV shows that seemed interesting so for my blog I will talk about what I do know about the topic along with the research I made. In fact, I got to learn about how cinema progressively became what it is nowadays; It all started around the end of the 19th century when Joseph Plateau discovered that the retina could hold image longer than we thought. Based on that other inventions were made such as the following:

However, they all had flaws so in 1895, les freres Lumiere or “Lumiere brothers” came with this brilliant machine based on a sewing machine mechanism: the cinematograph

The two brothers made a lot of money with this invention therefore they did not want to share their secret. It turned out to be a good decision because people started to try and copy if not surpass the lumiere’s invention and come up with a better, more sophisticated version of it. I thought it was important to learn that when the brothers tried to win the American market they were sadly surprised because Thomas Edison had created a similar version of the Vitascope. A lot of progress will happen in French cinema from 1895 to 1930; movies will become longer, and their content will become more diverse influenced by hollywood in some part. Ideas such the Cannes Festival will also become reality.

Today’s French cinema is something I know a little more and like. I am always struck by how much understatement is involved in some movies or how crude others can be. I also had a hard time understanding the humor in the comics.But I do love the “mise en scene” of dramas, I can easily become emotional watching those. That’s why I’m excited about the French Film Festival this week-end. I had planned to go see my favorite actor Gerard Jugnot in Mes Heros but instead I hope I will go see Cigarettes et bas nylons  tonight if I ever get a ticket... and on Sunday I will see Therese Desqueyroux. Looking at the trailers I already know that I will have a lot to say!