Diane in Montmartre

　
Diane in Montmartre
　
　

　
　

Subj:Summer is here

with us!

Enjoy the fireworks

on the English Bay!



From: diane03760@vancouver.ca
To: barclay1720@aol.com
Date: Tue, Aug 9, 2011 4:41 pm.
Pacific Daylight Saving Time

■"Diane in Paris"

(Tues. August 9, 2011)



Thanks, Kato...I've read the above article.
This is the very best ever!
I'm going to save it and take it in more closely when I have a bit more time.
It'll be like a visit to Paris itself.

Like I mentioned to you, I'd highly recommend you see "Midnight in Paris"---one of Woody Allen's best in my opinion.
It's a magical movie that will transport you back in time in Paris.

Midnight in Paris



It is a 2011 romantic comedy/fantasy film written and directed by Woody Allen.
The plot centers on a small group of Americans visiting the French capital for business and pleasure.

The protagonist, a screenwriter, is forced to confront the shortcomings of his relationship with his fiancée and their divergent goals because of his magical experiences in the city beginning each night at 12 AM.

Produced by Spanish group Mediapro and Allen's Gravier Productions, the film stars Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Marion Cotillard, Kathy Bates, Carla Bruni, Adrien Brody and Michael Sheen.
It premiered at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival and was released in North America in May 2011.

Upon release, the film met with universal critical acclaim and emerged as a global box office success, becoming Allen's highest grossing film ever.

Paris is an amazing city in that it's probably the only city in the world that really hasn't changed much over the years.
I'm sure that it's a result of government decisions to keep it that way.

I'm glad that it's retained its beauty and style and not been taken over by highrises and such.
Thanks again for this charmer.



Love, Diane ~

So, Diane, you love Paris, don't you?



Yes, I do. 　Very much so.

Did you enjoy the film "Midnight in Paris"?

Oh, yes, definitely. 　It was marvellous and quite fascinating.

What made you so fascinated?

Well..., it's like a time-machine story. The protagonist is a male writer called Gil, who is writing his first novel. 　His fiancée is called Inez.

Is she pretty and charming?

Well..., whether she is beautiful or not doesn't matter, Kato. 　Anyway, both of them are in Paris. 　One night, after a wine tasting and being a little drunk, Gil walks back to his hotel through the streets of Paris, but eventually he gets lost. 　As he stops at a set of stairs, nearby bells chime midnight.

...sounds like a male Cinderella story, doesn't it?

Something like that, but not quite. 　Only midnight chime is in common.

Then what happens?

Suddenly, an antique car pulls up, and to his surprise, the passengers turn out a group of champagne-drinking party-goers dressed in 1920s clothing. 　They all urege Gil to join them.

Does he step into the car?

Oh, yes, of course, he does because Gil admires and idolizes the 1920s in his novel.

So, Gil has been transported to the 1920s, hasn't he?

Yes, he has. 　Gil encounters Cole Porter, Josephine Baker, and Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald, and they take Gil to meet Ernest Hemingway, who agrees to show Gil's novel to Gertrude Stein, and Gil goes to fetch his manuscript from his hotel. 　However, as soon as he leaves the bar, he finds he has returned to 2010.

Oh, that's too bad for Gil.

But not really so because the same situation happens again the following midnight when Gil attempts to bring his fiancée, Inez, to the past, but she greets his excitement with annoyance and boredom, and peevishly returns to the hotel. Just after she leaves, the clock strikes midnight and the car pulls up again, this time with Hemingway inside it. He takes Gil to meet Gertrude Stein, who agrees to read his novel and introduces him to Pablo Picasso and his's mistress Adriana, a strikingly beautiful student of couture to whom Gil is instantly attracted.

Wow!...sounds quite interesting and fascinating.

So, that's the reason I really want you to see the film, Kato.

Oh, yes, I'd love to see it.

Midnight in Paris

Trailer 2011





You'd better, Kato. 　I'm pretty sure that you'll be fascinated as much as I was. 　By the way, how come you take me to Montmartre?



Well..., I was kinda fascinated by the character of Fujiko Hemming.





What makes you so intrested in her?



In a sence, her success story is like a Cinderella tale.

Why is it so?

Well..., she received many prestigious honors in her youth. 　At the age of 28, she went to Germany to study at the Berlin Institute of Music. 　During a concert in Vienna in 1971, Fujiko Hemming lost her hearing from a bout of high fever. She sank into despair and almost gave up her aspiration to become a full-fledged pianist.

Then what happened to her?

She decided to become a seamstress.

Seamstress? 　But why?

Well..., without hearing she considered it impossible to remain a pianist. Since she was good at sewing, she decided to work as a seamstress to earn her living.

Was she given a job offer?

Unfortunatly, she was turned down at every job interview. 　She had to endure hard days when she could hardly buy a loaf of bread. 　She even tried to commit suicide.

Did she really do that?

But she was so fond of her cats and dogs. 　Fujiko wondered what would happen to her pets after her death.

Those pets made her change her mind, didn't they?

Oh, yes, they did indeed. 　She continued to practice her piano. 　And then luck struck her as in a Cinderella story, and a documentary that aired in 1999 raised public interest in her music. 　Her subsequent debut CDs, La Campanella, were sold over two million copies.

Ingrid Fujiko Hemming

La Campanella





Fujiko Hemming performed at Carnegie Hall in New York in June 2001.



I see...but, Kato, how come you brings up Fujiko Hemming and Montmartre together?

Well..., Fujiko Hemming loves Montmartre very much.

Doe she?

Montmartre



Montmartre is a hill (the butte Montmartre) which is 130 metres high, giving its name to the surrounding district, in the north of Paris in the 18th arrondissement, a part of the Right Bank.
Montmartre is primarily known for the white-domed Basilica of the Sacré Cœur on its summit and as a nightclub district.
The other, older, church on the hill is Saint Pierre de Montmartre, which claims to be the location at which the Jesuit order of priests was founded.

Many artists had studios or worked around the community of Montmartre such as Salvador Dalí, Amedeo Modigliani, Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso and Vincent van Gogh.Montmartre is also the setting for several hit films.
This site is served by metro line 2 stations of Anvers, Pigalle and Blanche and the line 12 stations of Pigalle, Abbesses, Lamarck - Caulaincourt and Jules Joffrin.

Artists gather

In the mid-19th century, artists such as Johan Jongkind and Camille Pissarro came to inhabit Montmartre. But only at the end of the century did the district become the principal artistic center of Paris. A restaurant opened near the old windmill near the top, the Moulin de la Galette.

Artists' associations such as Les Nabis and the Incoherents were formed and individuals including Vincent van Gogh, Pierre Brissaud, Alfred Jarry, Gen Paul, Jacques Villon, Raymond Duchamp-Villon, Henri Matisse, André Derain, Suzanne Valadon, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Edgar Degas, Maurice Utrillo, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Théophile Steinlen, and African-American expatriates such as Langston Hughes worked in Montmartre and drew some of their inspiration from the area.

Pablo Picasso, Amedeo Modigliani, and other impoverished artists lived and worked in a commune, a building called Le Bateau-Lavoir, during the years 1904–1909. Composers, including Satie (who was a pianist at Le Chat Noir), also lived in the area.

The last of the bohemian Montmartre artists was Gen Paul (1895–1975), born in Montmartre and a friend of Utrillo. Paul's calligraphic expressionist lithographs, sometimes memorializing picturesque Montmartre itself, owe a lot to Raoul Dufy.

Contemporary Montmartre



There is a small vineyard in the Rue Saint-Vincent, which continues the tradition of wine production in the Île de France; it yields about 500 litres per year.

The Musée de Montmartre is in the house where the painter Maurice Utrillo lived and worked in a second-floor studio. The mansion in the garden at the back is the oldest hotel on Montmartre, and one of its first owners was Claude Roze, also known as Roze de Rosimond, who bought it in 1680. Roze was the actor who replaced Molière, and, like his predecessor, died on stage. The house was Pierre-Auguste Renoir's first Montmartre address and many other names moved through the premises.

Just off the top of the butte, Espace Dalí showcases surrealist artist Salvador Dalí's work. Nearby, day and night, tourists visit such sights as the artists in Place du Tertre and the cabaret du Lapin Agile. Many renowned artists are buried in the Cimetière de Montmartre and the Cimetière Saint-Vincent.

Montmartre was the setting of the film La Môme, (La vie en rose) which elaborates on the life of famous French singer Edith Piaf and her times in the slums of Paris, and of Amélie, the story of a young Parisian woman determined to help the lives of others and find her true love, is set in an exaggeratedly quaint version of contemporary Montmartre. 2001's Moulin Rouge! was also set in Montmartre, the story of a young man who believes in truth, beauty, freedom, and love, and who falls in love with a famous courtesan. 1954's Moulin Rouge, solely about the life and lost loves of painter Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, also took place in the district.

Downhill to the southwest is the red-light district of Pigalle. That area is, today, largely known for a wide variety of stores specializing in instruments for rock music. There are also several concert halls, also used for rock music.

---

SOURCE: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
PICTURES: from the Denman Library

Fujiko Hemming loves Montmartre.



Why does she love it so much?

...'Cause she identifies with struggling artists who have lived in Montmartre, I suppose. 　As a matter of fact I've just finished reading one of her books.

Under the sky of Montmartre



How could I possibly have dreamt of living in Paris?
I might have died as a pianist without a fame
in the Shimokitazawa house my mother left for me.
One day in the autumn of my life, spring visited me
with an unexpected luck thanks to my mother in Heaven.

I couldn't know what to do in the future---simply doing my best day-in day-out honestly to my heart.
When despair struck me, I prayed to God.

Who coule live with a perfect plan in mind?
Yet, anybody is given a place in this world by Heaven.
So, if you accept the place, Heaven may guide your life.

Basilica of the Sacré Cœur stands out with a mountain of clouds on its shoulders
as if a man stood up with a fate given by Heaven.
Likewise, each of us mey be leading a life with a given fate.



(Note: Picture from the Denman library
Translated by Kato)

---

SOURCE: "My heart's in Paris"
by Fujiko Hemming
16 - 17ページ 『我が心のパリ』
著者： フジ子・へミング
２００５年２月２５日 初版発行
発行所： 株式会社 阪急コミュニケーションズ

...sounds a little bit sad, but encouraging, isn't it?



I think so, too.

So, Kato, do you love Montmartre?

Oh, yes, I do. 　I love Montmartre as much as Saint Germain des Prés.

Take a stroll in Montmartre







Listening to Édith Piaf's CD, I like to take a stroll around Montmartre.



Oh, do you? 　So, you love Chanson Française (French song), don't you?

Yes, I do.

Paris - Montmartre





I'm a bit tired of watching street scenes.



Oh, are you? 　Then why don't you enjoy the shows of some street artists?

Montmartre with street artists

【Himiko's Monologue】



I'd love to spend days in Paris.
Have you ever been to Paris?
I wish I sat down in a cafe and watched passers-by while having a cup of café au lait.

Well, spending happy days in Paris is one thing; romance is another.
Come to think of it, I've never met a decent man in my net life.
How come I'm always a loner?
I wish I could meet a nice gentleman at the library in my town as Kato met Diane.
Well, they say, there is a way where there is a will.

Have a nice day!
Bye bye ...

■"Cleopatra"

■"Queen Nefertiti"

■"Catherine de Medici"

■"Catherine the Great"



■"Mata Hari"

■"Sidonie Colette"



■"Marilyn Monroe"

■"Hello Diane!"

■"I wish you were there!"

■"Jane Eyre"



■"Jane Eyre Again"

■"Jane Eyre in Vancouver"

■"Jane Eyre Special"

■"Love & Death of Cleopatra"

■"Nice Story"



■"Scrumdiddlyumptious"

■"Spiritual Work or What?"

■"What a coincidence!"



■"Wind and Water"

■"Yoga and Happiness"

■"You're in a good shape"



■"Hellelujah!"

■"Ecclesiophobia"

■"Uncorruptible"

■"Net Travel & Jane"



■"Net Love"

■"Complicated Love"

■"Electra Complex"

■"Net Début"

■"Inner World"



■"Madame Riviera and Burger"

■"Roly-poly in the North"

■"Amazing Grace"

■"Diane in Paris"



ィ～ハァ～♪～!

メチャ面白い、

ためになる関連記事




■　『きれいになったと感じさせる

下着・ランジェリーを見つけませんか？』

■　『ちょっと変わった　新しい古代日本史』

■　『面白くて楽しいレンゲ物語』



■　『カナダのバーナビーと軽井沢に

別荘を持つことを夢見る小百合さんの物語』

■　『今すぐに役立つホットな情報』

■　『　○　笑う者には福が来る　○　』



■『夢とロマンの横浜散歩』

■『愛とロマンの小包』

■『下つきだねって言われて…』

■『銀幕の愛』

■『パリの空の下で』

■『夢の中華パン』

■『愛の進化論』



■『漫画家と平和（２０１１年３月６日）』

■『漫画家の壁（２０１１年３月１０日）』

■『漫画家と奴隷（２０１１年３月１２日）』



■『畳の上の水練（２０１１年３月１５日）』

■『パール判事とゴーマン（２０１１年３月１８日）』

■『軍隊のない国（２０１１年３月２１日）』

■『士風と「葉隠」（２０１１年３月２３日）』

■『アナクロニズム（２０１１年３月２７日）』




Hi, I'm June Adames.

I like a leisurely stroll

while listening to nice music

such as "Sous le Ciel de Paris."



Sous le Ciel de Paris

by Hideshi Kibi（日本人）



You can find some Japanese musicians in Paris.

Fujiko Hemming also likes Édith Piaf

who sings "Sous le ciel de Paris."

Sous le ciel de Paris

by Édith Piaf



I like Chanson Française (French song).

How about you?

Kato also love Édith Piaf,

but he considers Juliette Greco's

"Sous le Ciel de Paris" much beter.

Sous le Ciel de Paris

by Juliette Greco



I believe Yves Montand's "Sous le Ciel de Paris" is the best of all.

Sous le Ciel de Paris

by Yves Montand



I love Paris, but Vancouver isn't bad at all.

To tell you the truth, Vancouver is a paradise to me.











Kato thinks that Vancouver is better than Paris.

灯台下暗し

Here's a Japanese proverb.

If I translate it literally, it means this:

The lighthouse does not

shine on its base.

It also means this:

The darkest place is

under the candlestick.

I'm pretty sure that your birthplace is a paradise to you.



ところで、愛とロマンに満ちた

レンゲさんのお話をまとめて

『レンゲ物語』を作りました。

もし、レンゲさんの記事をまとめて読みたいならば、

次のリンクをクリックしてくださいね。

■『愛とロマンのレンゲ物語』



とにかく、今日も一日楽しく愉快に

ネットサーフィンしましょうね。

じゃあね。