Christine Boutin's "invasion of gays"

As France "recovers" from the million person march (organisers) or 150,000-strong (official figures) anti same-sex marriage "Manif pour tous" last weekend in Paris, a couple are preparing to wed in Montpellier.

On Wednesday Vincent Autin and Bruno Boileau will become the first "gay grooms to tie the knot" since parliament voted in favour, the Constitutional Council gave its approval and the French president François Hollande signed same-sex marriage into law.

Vincent Autin (right) and Bruno Boileau (screenshot AFPTV report)

Add to that the fact that on the same day as the march, Franco-Tunisian director Abdellatif Kechiche picked up top honours at the Cannes film festival for his "story of a young woman's awakening" in the film "La vie d'Adèle" ("Blue is the warmest colour") and you'll surely understand (?) how it has all become just a little too much for the country's most gay-friendly politician to handle.

We're talking about Christine Boutin of course, the former housing minister and leader of the centre-right Parti chrétien-démocrate (Christian democratic party, PCD) who defends family values and is most definitely not a homophobe.

That must be true because she has repeatedly said so.

Christine Boutin "I'm not a homophobe" (screenshot from TV5Monde, RFI, Le Monde interview)

But somehow it's increasingly hard to believe, especially in light of her outburst on French radio on Monday.

Following on from her recent tasteless tweet about US actress Angelina Jolie's decision to have a double mastectomy to reduce her chances of getting breast cancer, and perhaps still feeling the after-effects (well there has to be some sort of explanation)  of being sprayed with tear gas during a Manif pour tous demonstration in Paris back in March, Boutin revealed that contrary to what she might insist, her views surely more than smack of homophobia.

Invited into the studios of RMC radio and asked to give her reaction to Kechiche's win, Boutin's  gay tolerance fuse blew.

"You can't watch a movie on television or a series without there being gays included and expressing themselves," she said.

"And now it's the Palme d'Or.... We're being invaded. We can no longer have a story without a gay theme occurring. It's too much," she continued.

"Today it seems to be a fashion to be gay. We're being invaded by gays."

Au secours!

One French couple's recipe for to avoid paying traffic fines - and it's legal

It's one of those absurd but true stories which both defies belief and illustrates how a loophole in the law, even in a country such as France which seems to have so many of them, can be exploited to its full potential.

As reported in the regional daily Nice Matin, a couple in the French city of Cannes have managed to rack up fines for traffic offences amounting to the grand total of just over €23,000.

Driving documents (from Wikipedia)

The infractions date back to July 2010 and so far there have been 70 of them - for speeding, illegal parking, not paying at motorway toll booths...and the list goes on.

Oh yes, and as well as the fines there have also been points deducted for those speeding offences.

But the charges against the couple have been dropped - even though it's clear they must be the ones committing the offences.

And it's all because of that loophole in the law which has allowed them to register the car they use in the name of their son.

He is, according to the carte grise or the car registration papers, the legal owner of the car - a Fiat Punto - and as such considered by law to be the driver - unless proven otherwise.

So why not charge him, you might be asking.

Well he's only four years old and obviously is too young to be held accountable.

And as his parents refused to attend a court hearing, the judge had no option but to drop the charges.

"It's clearly absurd but that's the way the law operates," the judge said in dismissing the case.

"Because the parents didn't attend the hearing, the only thing I can do it drop the charges," he continued.

"It isn't sufficient to assume that they were trying to get away with not paying fines, it also has to be proven that they were the ones actually driving (when the offences took place).

The law allowing parents to register vehicles in the name of their children was apparently introduced in 1984 and was supposed to allow 16 and 17-year-old learner drivers to have a car.

"The Artist" - a truly French success story?

It has been the talk of France over the past couple of days, the success of the film "The Artist" at this year's Oscars.

(screenshot from "The Artist" trailer)

The film, directed by the man by with an almost unpronouncable name (pity the poor Americans) Michel Hazanavicius, and starring Jean Dujardin picked up five statuettes, including Best Director, Film and Actor.



Without wanting to appear entirely churlish, how much is the gongification of the film and those involved down to the quality of what was up on the Big Screen and how much is due to a "master of movie industry promotion" Harvey Weinstein?

Is the film really a French success or just another example of how much power Weinstein wields in Hollywood?

Yes it's a film worth seeing. It's enjoyable and in a review when it first went on general release here in France, there was the recommendation here that, "If there's one film - just one single film - you should absolutely go to see this year it has to be 'The Artist'."

It's delightful, immensely entertaining and beautifully shot; "A pastiche…but lovingly made and extremely watchable," is how Screen International described it, and that was pretty much spot on.

When it premiered at Cannes, the long journey to international recognition was given one heck of a boost when Dujardin picked up Best Actor.

With a canny eye for what might appeal, Weinstein had already picked up the distribution rights before Cannes and by the time the film went on general release here in France in October, there were already rumours that it might be nominated in the main section of the Oscars and not consigned to the Foreign Picture category.

Its appeal was obvious.

Although not exactly original in being a silent film (after all how did the industry begin?) it was different enough to the 3D, special FX, kitchen sink sort of blockbuster diet the movie-going public is so often fed.

And what had originally been the very source of Hazanavicius' difficulties when he first came up with the idea in the 1990s but failed to get the funding, suddenly became one of its strengths as the promotional juggernaut switched up a gear.

Different equalled allure.

It paid dividends with the buzz from successive awards ceremonies including Golden Globes, British Baftas and French Césars (although in the case of the last, not Best Actor for Dujardin) combining with a formidable charm offensive to woo the Academy members who vote for the Oscars.

Throw in the theme of the film (Hollywood), where it was shot (Hollywood) and the homage it paid to several other (Hollywood) films and it surely had "winner" written all over it.

Plus there was no real language barrier to overcome.

Yes it is a French film directed by a Frenchman, starring French actors and produced by another Frenchman in the form of Thomas Langmann the son of the late (Oscar-winning) French director Claude Berri.

But equally its success is arguably very US driven.

Although it'll provide an international and financial boost to the careers of those involved especially Hazanavicius, his partner Bérénice Bejo and perhaps most notably Dujardin - provided they're willing to make as much of a commitment to living and working in Hollywood - it's undeniably also a tribute to the power and influence of one man - Harvey Weinstein.

Friday's French music break - Shakira, "Je l'aime a mourir"

Friday's French music break this week is sung by a woman who surely needs no introduction as she's one of the biggest international stars around today.

Shakira.

Shakira (screenshot from NRJ Music Awards)

It's her rendition - sung in French - of a song originally written and performed by Francis Cabrel.

Unless you've not flipped on a French music radio station recently or seen a variety programme on television, you cannot help but have heard it.

Not surprisingly given the song's exposure and Shakira's 2010 and 2011 concerts dates in France as well as the release of the song as part of the "Live from Paris" DVD, her version of "Je l'aime a mourir" entered the French charts at number one in the middle of January.

While you've probably heard of Shakira, you might not be familiar with Cabrel and quite frankly, as a matter of general French popular music culture you should be.

The 58-year-old is arguably one of the best songwriters of his generation.

He first recorded and released "Je l'aime à mourir" in 1979 and then in 1998 he re-released it as "La quiero a morir" on his Spanish-language album "Algo más de amor".

Cabrel's appeal probably lies in the poetic nature of his lyrics and polished melodies.

Indeed "Je l'aime à mourir" is one example of several of his songs that cut across generations and the chances are (if you live in France) that you know a French person or two (or several) who could sing along without any trouble.

If you need more words, then try the excellent and not-too-long biography on Radio France Internationale which tracks the career of "one of the most prominent figures on the French music scene" from his humble beginnings in the département of Lot et Garonne, the influence of Bob Dylan on his writing style, his attachment to the village of Astaffort away from the glare of celebrity, his charity work throughout the years and some truly memorable songs along the way.

Meanwhile back to Shakira, and although there are plenty of live recordings of her singing "Je l'aime a mourir" available on YouTube if you want to search, here's one from a performance at the recently televised NRJ Music Awards in Cannes.

So sit back and enjoy.

It'll give you a taste of Cabrel's magical songwriting skills and maybe encourage you to listen to some of his other material.

Bon week-end.

London on the move -those geographical wizards at CNN are at it again

Remember a couple of months ago when, during the G20 summit in Cannes the US cable news channel CNN managed to show a map during one report which placed the city not on the French Riviera but several hundred kilometres away in Spain?

No big deal perhaps as Cannes is only slightly well-known internationally for hosting an annual film festival and whoever was responsible for the mix-up can be forgiven for his or her error - can't they?

Obviously though the channel isn't content with "small fry" in its attempt to redraw the map of Europe.

It has now turned its attention to a much bigger "fish" - London.

(screenshot CNN)

Because in a report last weekend on the latest arrests in the 'phone hacking scandal that have "rocked" (don't you just love that word?) the United Kingdom, some bright spark at CNN managed to move the capital 120 miles to the north-east.

It is, according to the channel, now to be found in the county of Norfolk - right where Norwich used to be.

But wait.

That's not all.

CNN has also created an entirely new town in the south-west of the country; Cornwall.

That's reassuring isn't it?

Oh well, let's just hope that when it comes to the Summer Olympics the channel manages to get its act together.

On current form though, it doesn't bode well.

Did Sarkozy really spend €37,000 a night on his G20 hotel room? No!

"As world teeters on the brink, can leaders enjoy €1m of hospitality? Yes they Cannes" screamed the headline to a story in that bastion of journalistic accuracy The Sun last week.

Majestic hotel, Cannes (screenshot from YouTube video)

The paper was beside itself and in apoplectic full flow over the amount of money some world leaders had spent on accommodation, "gourmet meals and fine wine" during the G20 summit held in the southern French city of Cannes.

And according to the paper the biggest culprit, in terms of the amount he had spent on a place to rest his head for two nights, was none other than the host to the whole shebang, the French president Nicolas Sarkozy.

In the piece readers learned that the former master of Bling Bling had forked out an "eyewatering" £32,000 or around €37,000 a night for "the Presidential Suite at the five-star Majestic Hotel".

What a scandal, especially in these times of belt-tightening austerity, and the comments from Sun readers were suitably outraged.

Except it's not true, according to both Franck Louvrier, a spokesman for the French president's office, and the hotel itself.

You see, the French national daily Le Monde actually took the time to check on the veracity of the claim and provided evidence to back up what it had found.

It's a clever technique that surely still has its place in reporting called "backing a story up" with evidence or "attributing" it.

"The information is false," Louvrier told Le Monde.

"The actual cost was ten times less even though there are suites at that price."

There are indeed, as the hotel confirmed; one at €30,000 a night and another at €38,000.

But Sarkozy wasn't in either of them and instead had been in a room which typically cost between €1,500 and €3,000 a night.

The Majestic was too discreet to mention which room in particular Sarkozy had stayed but it did confirm that the bill for his two-night stay had been between €6,000 and €7,000.

So there you have it. Perhaps The Sun article slapped on an extra "zero" - by mistake.

And what does it say for the rest of the claimed expenses and accompanying graphics?

CNN reports from G20 in Cannes - Spain!

All right a question to all Americans reading this.

How good is your knowledge of European geography?

Hopefully a little (or should that be a lot) better than someone over at CNN, the US cable news channel with of course its well-known international counterpart.

The channel has deployed, what the French weekly news magazine Le Point calls, "its usual army of journalists and technicians" to cover the G20 summit.

You know, the talkathon currently taking place in Cannes - hosted by the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy with guest of honour his US counterpart Barack Obama.

The two men are to appear in a 15-minute pre-recorded interview on prime time news in France on Friday evening - apparently more than enough time to cover all the world's issues and any questions on re-election they might both face next year. But that's an aside.

Er - so where were we? Oh yes - G20 summit, Cannes on the French Riviera and ergo in France...well not quite it appears.

Because someone back home at CNN HQ responsible for putting together world maps managed to place the city, world famous for its annual film festival, not just several hundred kilometres away but in a completely different country - Spain to be precise.

Now we all know that Americans can have a rather - how to put this politely? - tainted view of the world, geographically speaking but really!

The blunder didn't go unnoticed on the Net of course with comments ranging from "CNN exclusive - northern Spain has been ceded to France" to the suggestion that "when the US invades Iran, best make sure that CNN are not embedded with the military."

Click here to see one of many images of CNN's latest take on European geography.

Michel Hazanavicius' "The Artist" - a film to see

If there's one film - just one single film - you should absolutely go to see this year it has to be "The Artist".

(screenshot "The Artist" trailer)

French critics have been heaping praise on it ever since it premiered at the Cannes film festival in May when Jean Dujardin took home the award for Best Actor.

Director Michel Hazanavicius' idea might seem completely potty.

At a time when 3D is all the rage, special FX, music, BIG Hollywood names, colour, the kitchen sink - you name it - are all part of what supposedly tickles the fancy of film-goers, what does the 44-year-old director, screenwriter and producer come up with?

A film in black and white of course - and a silent one to boot!

Hazanavicius apparently had the idea of making a black and white silent movie as far back as the early 90s but couldn't get the funding together.

It wasn't until after the success in France of his two spy spoof movies "OSS 117: Le Caire nid d'espions" ("OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies") in 2006 and "OSS 117: Rio Ne Répond Plus" ("OSS 117: Lost in Rio") in 2009, both of which starred Dujardin, that Hazanavicius sent the script of "The Artist" to the producer Thomas Langmann, who managed to get together a €10 million budget.

The film was shot at Warner Studios in Los Angeles in just 35 days, a feat which Hazanavicius admits, didn't really give him a chance to appreciate fully exactly how "mythical" the setting was.

"It was very short and I didn't have the time to be clear about where I was," he said.

"I had to keep to a very tight schedule and convince those working on the film to adapt to the French method of movie making."

The result? A romantic comedy described as "A pastiche…but lovingly made and extremely watchable," by Screen International.

Jean Dujardin (screenshot "The Artist" trailer)

Its storyline perhaps isn't entirely original: George Valentin (Dujardin) a star of silent movies in the late 1920s at a time when talkies are the future meets young actress Peppy Miller (played by Hazanavicius' wife, Bérénice Bejo) looking for her big break. As Valentin's star wanes, so Miller's rises.

(screenshot "The Artist" trailer)

But - and it's a big but - there's emotion, passion, music, dance, wonderful cinematography (yes it's possible in black and white) more than a few nods to classic Hollywood films that should keep any cinephile happy and, and and...oh yes a dog in the shape of Jack (played by Jack Russell Uggy who also won an award at Cannes - the Palm Dog).

"The Artist" opened in France October 12 and there are rumblings that it won't just be entered into that also-ran Best Foreign Language Film category at the Oscars next year - but will be in the main competition for the proper gongs.

So here's a word of advice - go see it.

Enjoy - and hey....even if you don't speak a word of French, it'll likely be the first film from this country that you'll sit through and be able to understand in its entirety.

Mélanie Laurent - France's latest singing actress

Mélanie Laurent has released her debut album, En t'attendant.

So what? You might be thinking. Well the fact of the matter is that she's not really a singer - well at least not until now.

And some are not sure that Laurent really is, even after the release of her debut album on May 2.

Mélanie Laurent (screenshot from clip En t'attendant)

The 28-year-old is an accomplished actress and already has one César (the French equivalent of an Oscar) under her belt as most promising actress in the excellent 2006 film Je vais bien, ne t'en fais pas.

Since then Hollywood has sat up and taken notice and she secured the role of Shosanna Dreyfus in Quentin Tarantino's 2009 film Inglourious Basterds.

Laurent has also written and directed films; one of them, De moins en moins, was nominated for Best short film at the 2008 Cannes film festival, which brings us full circle as she'll be maîtresse de cérémonie at both the opening and closing of this year's cinematographic extravaganza on the French Riviera.

Somehow, somewhere along the way, Laurent has also managed to pack in recording her debut album En t'attendant.

The two-year project with the Irish musician Damien Rice resulted in what Laurent calls, "The fulfilment of a childhood dream."

"I didn't wake up one morning and think 'Hey I think I could be a singer'," she says.

And that's probably just as well because the impression you could have of some French actresses throughout the years is that they have had exactly that thought.

The list of those who've had a stab at treating the rest of us to their vocal cords includes (among many, many others) Catherine Deneuve, Brigitte Bardot, Isabelle Adjani, Jeanne Moreau, Sandrine Kiberlain, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Vanessa Paradis.

Some, such as Gainsbourg and Paradis, have made the transition back and forth without any problem.

Others - well perhaps it would have been better had they stuck to their day job.

So which camp does Laurent belong to?

Well reviews for her album have been mixed.

There has been praise for Rice's arrangements and the strength of his voice (on two duets) but doubts cast on the quality of Laurent's and her ability to deliver.

"The album is beautifully made...and often seductive," says Radio France Internationale.

"But Laurent needs to impose her personality more in her voice."

And that's a point of view picked up by Frederic Le Rouzo writing for the French website Le Post.

He applauds Laurent's approach describing it as "simple and modest" but at the same time the impression the listener has, "is of a flat voice, banal...one which does not transmit emotion or make us dream."

"One can only wish her a continued acting career in which she will easily find success," he concludes.

Ouch!

Laurent hasn't taken such criticism well and reacted angrily in an interview with the regional daily Le Berry républicain during Le Printemps de Bourges.

She was appearing at the music festival shortly before the release of her album..

Laurent lashed out at journalists saying that they seemed only too willing to criticise and that it didn't seem to matter someone in the public eye said or did, there were those only too willing to find something disparaging to say.



You can judge for yourselves by listening to the title track of the album.

And cast an eye over the comments from those who really count - potential fans.

Some are enthusiastic but other are far from being gentle with the suggestion that the last thing France needs is "another Carla Bruni-Sarkozy" soundalike.

Ooh. That's a little below the belt.

Woody Allen's "Midnight in Paris" - the trailer

US film director Woody Allen's latest movie "Midnight in Paris" will open the Cannes film festival on May 11.

And from the trailer it looks as though it'll be a classic Allen.

It's apparently a romantic comedy which follows a young American couple, engaged to be married, on holiday in Paris with their families.

A Paris which, as the trailer says, "in the morning is beautiful, in the afternoon charming, in the evening enchanting but after midnight is magic."

Without giving too much away the plot reportedly sees the young man (played by Owen Wilson) walk the streets of Paris by night alone, during which he falls under the spell of the city and the couple is "forced to confront the illusion that a life different from their own is better".

Ah! Very Allen with blissfully sumptuous shots of the city of lights in all its glory; clichéd perhaps but inevitable - a delight for any fan of the director's previous 40 films.

Yes it might be very much in the mould of the 75-year-old's other romantic comedies and slightly hackneyed in the way it presents the French capital, but what the heck.

It's Allen and fans probably won't be disappointed and there's that cast of course.

It combines Hollywood A-listers with a splash of European: a mix of Allen favourites, Oscar winners and a couple of bright young(ish) things

Apart from Owen - and in alphabetic order - there's (among others) Kathy Bates, Adrian Brody, Marion Cotillard, Rachel McAdams, Michael Sheen...and oh yes...a certain Carla Bruni (the "Sarkozy" part of her surname seems to have been dropped for some reason).

Carla Bruni-Sarkozy in Woody Allen's "Midnight in Paris" (screenshot from trailer)

Woo hoo. It has finally happened.

After modelling, singing (ongoing), and first-ladying, Bruni-Sarkozy now hits the big screen, just as Allen promised she would back in June 2009

Well if the truth be told it'll actually be Bruni-Sarkozy's second film appearance .

Her debut came back in Robert Altman's 1994 fashion satire "Pret-a-Porter". But perhaps that doesn't count as she played herself and that, only briefly.

This time though she speaks. And that, in spite of rumours (hotly denied by Allen) that it required rather a lot of takes (30 or more) for the Finely Chiselled One to get her lines right.

Bruni-Sarkozy has also survived the cutting room floor and although her performance might be overshadowed by the real stars, who cares?

There she is, larger than life and many times more beautiful, adding yet another string to her multi-talented bow of talents.

All right, so it might be a little exaggerated to judge her performance from the virtual nano-second trailer appearance (blink and you might miss it) but the French and others will get the chance to see for themselves on May 11.

That's when it'll be shown as the opening film at this year's annual bash in Cannes whose director, Thierry Frémaux, has described Allen's latest work as, "A wonderful love letter to Paris."

One thing's for sure, if the whole cast pitches up for the showing, the red carpet promises to come in for some serious tread.

The French won't have to wait too long to flood to the cinema to see their first lady as the film will open in cinemas across the country on the same day.

For those though that cannot wait, here's the trailer.

Enjoy.

French film festivals - the Americans are coming!

Less than a week after the announcement that US actor Robert De Niro would jury chairman at the 64th annual Cannes film festival in May comes the news that another American will be "topping the bill" so-to-speak at this year's César awards in February.

Jodie Foster, Berlin 2007 (image from Wikipedia, author Franz Richter)

Actress Jodie Foster will add her very own brand of American flair, in fluent French of course, to this country's equivalent of the Oscars next month as president of the 36th annual César awards ceremony to be held at Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris.

While De Niro's appointment continues a trend that will have seen three out of the last four jury presidents at Cannes coming from across the Pond (Sean Penn in 2008 and Tim Burton in 2010) Foster will become the first foreigner since the late Italian actor Marcello Mastroianni to preside over the César ceremony and only the fourth American ever after Kirk Douglas (1990), Gene Kelly (1984) and Orson Welles (1982)

The choice of the 48-year-old Foster perhaps comes as no surprise as the weekly national Le Journal du Dimanche pointed out on its website.

She is, as the paper reminds its readers, "an accomplished francophone" who studied at the Lycée Français in Los Angeles.

Apart from an acting career which includes the not-so trifling accolade of winning two Oscars for best actress (1988 in The Accused and 1991 in The Silence of the Lambs) and being nominated on two other occasions (for best supporting actress at just 14 years of age in the 1976 film Taxi Driver and again in the best actress category in the 1994 movie Nell) Foster has also directed and produced.

And, as US Daily reports, she is no stranger to French cinema having "appeared in Eric Le Hung's 1977 film Moi, Fleur Bleue (Stop Calling Me Baby (Moi, fleur bleue), Claude Chabrol's Le Sang des autres (The Blood of Others) in 1984 and Jean-Pierre Jeunet's Un long dimanche de fiançailles (A Very Long Engagement) in 2004.

The César award ceremony will take place on February 25 and be broadcast live on Canal + television.

The nominees in each of the categories will be announced on January 21 in Paris.

The double-American whammy should put paid (for a while at least) to those assertions that the French always look sniffily down their collective Gallic noses when it comes to US "culture", although perhaps both Foster and De Niro are noteworthy exceptions to the rule that "The world is turning Disney".



The making of the real The Silence of the lambs






The spoof starring Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders

Cannes film festival throws open its doors

With the usual hullabaloo and a throng of A-list celebrities expected, the 62nd edition of the annual Cannes film festival opened on Wednesday on the Côte d’Azur.

In purely French terms, it'll have to go something to outshine last year's festival, which saw the excellent “Entre les murs” (The Class) directed by Laurent Cantet win the coveted Palme d’Or.

But this year still promises to be a memorable one, with insiders - ah yes the infamous cognoscenti - seeming to agree that the list of entries is pretty impressive, especially in the main competition, that for the Palme d'Or.

The red carpet will of course be graced by the usual host of big screen names - domestic and international - including Monica Bellucci, Diane Kruger, Brad Pitt, Gérard Depardieu, Eric Cantona (more on him in a moment) and many, many more.

The 4,000 plus accredited journalists will have a tough time jostling for position as they clamber to get those all-important interviews and reports back to HQ.

And the nine-strong jury, headed this year by the French actress Isabelle Huppert, also look to have their work cut out as a glimpse at just some of the directors whose films are in the running for that coveted top prize would seem to bear out.

Lars von Trier (Antichrist), Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds), Pedro Almodovar (Los Abrazos Rotus/Broken Embraces), Jane Campion (Bright Star) and Ang Lee (Taking Woodstock) all figure among the 20 film-makers in the in main competition.

For a full run down of all 20 films including the synopses, take a look here on the festival's official site.

That's not to mention of course another 20 films in the category "Un certain regard" click here, or those out of competition or receiving special screenings.

By any measure Cannes seems to have come up with a treasure trove for any film buff this time around and although of course I could go into rapturous speculation about the possible outcome, as I've yet to see any of the films, that might be more than a little presumptuous.

But I have seen a preview for one - and it's from a man who's no stranger to success at Cannes - the British director, Ken Loach.

His surreal comedy "Looking for Eric" stars none other than - wait for it Eric (as in the title of the film) Cantona.

YouTube Video

For those unfamiliar with the name, he is a former French international football (soccer) player, who in the 1990s became something of an idol to millions of British followers of the "beautiful game" during his seasons at first, Leeds United and later Manchester United.

The film looks and sounds as though it was a meeting of two men, who on paper at least might seem rather mismatched, but in reality have more in common.

And from the trailers, what Loach seems to offer film-goers is a trip down memory lane and something much more light-hearted than his usually more serious offerings.

It's a "must see" regardless of whether it receives critical acclaim at Cannes, although that certainly wouldn't do the box office receipts any harm.

The only qualm perhaps is that some of the dialogue (and remember this is just from the trailer) is very regional British English and the accents might be a little difficult for even some native speakers to follow.

Last year was the first time in 21 years that a French film scooped top honours for best movie at Cannes and only the fourth time a French production had triumphed since the gaggle of glitterati first started gathering for the annual film festival on the Côte d’Azur in 1946.

Can the French do it again? Well we'll have to wait until the final day of the festival, May 24, to find out what the jury thinks.

Entre les murs - French winner at Cannes finally hits the big screen

Wednesday is the day of the week when new films open here in France, and among those on general release today is this year's Cannes film festival winner, Entre les Murs (The Class).

There was a great hullaballoo when the film unexpectedly won the Palme d'Or back in May - after all it was the first time in 21 years that a French film had scooped top honours.

And it won fulsome praise from the jury president, US actor Sean Penn, who called it "amazing" and had from the outset of the festival insisted that it was impossible to separate film from politics, and had promised that the winner would be a reflection of the current climate.

Most who either saw the film in Cannes or have been treated to special screenings since would agree wholeheartedly that Entre les murs is just that.

By today's budget-busting standards it's a small film - it cost less than €3 million to make - and over the 2 hours and 10 minutes follows a year in the lives of a class and their teacher in a tough inner city secondary school in Paris.

Director Laurent Cantet's film is a mix of documentary and fiction written by, and starring François Bégaudeau – himself a former teacher – with most of the other roles being filled by real students and teachers.

Actually we're pretty luck to have the film this early. It wasn't officially due to be released until October 15 but the distributors brought the date forward apparently because it was scheduled to hit some foreign cinemas - in particular in Italy - at some point this month and it would have looked plain daft, according to the film's producers, if France had dragged its feet.

Oh yes and there's another rumour doing the rounds. Entre les Murs is reportedly being considered among the shortlist of films which France wants to put forward for next year's Oscar nominations in the best foreign language film category. To be able to qualify, a film needs to have been released before September 30.

It'll be tough for the film to have the same sort of commercial success as the home produced comedy Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis earlier this year, which broke all box office records to become France's biggest grossing domestic production ever.

But Cantet's movie has already received a lot of critical acclaim and although it's primarily aimed at adults, the French minister of culture, Christine Albanel, has recommended that it be shown in all secondary schools throughout the country.

If you're interested in France and life here, and especially what makes much of today's youth tick, then this is definitely a film to go and see. And as with any good film, it doesn't just tell a tale that's restricted to the setting in which it's made - doubtless that's why it won top prize at Cannes, which is after all a showcase for international cinema.

It's packed with universal themes that will probably resonate in many other countries - race, truth, individual relations, social problems - and there is of course much, much more to say about it. But that would be giving away too much in a review, which should never be the case.

Perhaps though two very different approaches to how the film has been described by others that have seen it will also provide a taster. First up there's the national daily Le Monde, which says the workings of a classroom are a puzzle to those removed from the system but the film sheds light on that mystery using direct experience in the form of fiction.

"Initially it appears as a series of scenarios which don't necessarily appear connected, but as the film progresses their relevance becomes apparent and they flow to increase the dramatic intensity," runs a perhaps rather convoluted professional assessment of the film.

And then there are the amateur reviews and perhaps proof of how Entres les murs is likely to go down certainly here in France and probably abroad, coming in the form of the reactions of some 13-14 year olds in the western city of Nantes.

They were treated to a screening of the film a day ahead of its general release and their comments reported in this morning's edition of the regional daily Ouest France

And they summed up what they felt in a way the jury back in Cannes probably couldn't have put better.

"My father was beginning to have doubts about what classroom life was like," says one.

"I would say it's a bit exaggerated, but it's also a pretty good reflection of what we're like," says a second.

And perhaps most tellingly for the film's likely success from another, "Parents should go and see it. That'll help them understand us."

French triumph at Cannes but flop at Eurovision

For the first time in 21 years a French film has scooped top honours for best movie at the Cannes film festival.

“Entre les murs” (The Class) directed by Laurent Cantet won the coveted Palme d’Or on a unanimous decision by the jury.

It was only the fourth time a French production had triumphed since the gaggle of glitterati first started gathering for the annual film festival on the Côte d’Azur in 1946.

The film is a mix of documentary and fiction, following the lives of a class and their teacher in a tough inner city secondary school in Paris over the course of a year.

It was written by, and stars François Begaudeau – himself a teacher – with most of the other roles being filled by real students and teachers.

The president of the jury, US actor Sean Penn, was fulsome in his praise for the winner calling it an amazing film. Before the festival he had insisted that it was impossible to separate film from politics, and had promised that the winning film would be a reflection of the current climate.

Most would agree that “Entre les murs” is just that.

While the win might have come as something of a surprise given the relatively low profile of the film - mainly because it was shown on the last day of competition - there were beaming smiles all round as the French media gave itself a collective pat on the back for the win.

The national state television channel, France 2, was particularly pleased with itself as it was one of the main financial backers of the film and ran a live interview with Cantet, Begaudeau and some of the students at the end of its prime time news on Sunday.

The film isn’t actually due for general release until October this year, but already the culture minister, Christine Albanel, has jumped on the proverbial bandwagon and called for it to be screened in secondary schools throughout the country.

While Cannes attracts filmmakers and actors from around the globe, it’s also a special chance for some of Hollywood’s modern greats to bask in the sun and even more importantly their own glory as they give the assembled paparazzi more than their fair share of photo ops. And this year naturally was no exception.

There was the world premiere of the latest “Indiana Jones” movie with its star Harrison Ford showing up along with the director Steven Spielberg - who popped off to Paris to collect the Legion d’honneur. Of course “Brangelina” pitched up looking resplendently pregnant with twins – well at least one half of them did. Eva Longoria, Dustin Hoffman, Clint Eastwood and many, many others also tripped their way along La Croisette.

So the red carpet has been rolled up and another fun-packed carnival has come to an end.

While France might have triumphed at Cannes, there was no weekend “cultural” double whammy. At Saturday’s annual music jamboree, considered by many to be inappropriately called the Eurovision Song contest, the French contestant, Sébastien Tellier, could only manage 19th place (out of 25).

He notched up a miserly 47 points at the knees-up held this year in the Serbian capital, Belgrade, despite resorting to English lyrics and putting in a performance of his electro-pop “Divine” that by any critical standards was both professional and entertaining.

Still Eurovision, would not be Eurovision without the usual tactical voting as countries awarded top marks to neighbours and (former) political allies. Russia might have been victorious this time around and consequently won the right to host next year’s contest, but already there are calls for the “Big Four” (financial contributors), France, Germany, Britain and Spain to withdraw from future participation.

So no “douze points” for Tellier or France in Belgrade, but top marks at Cannes.