Today I decided to watch a French film, to help my ears and mind switch to that inner French lady that lives within my soul. Why did I need to help my ears adjust to the spoken language, you might ask? Well, I had an interview today for a company that is opening their West Coast Operations in Chandler, AZ. The company is Bonjour USA, a company focused on French clients coming to the US, and coordinating their conventions & tours, from hotel arrangements to ground transportation, and beyond.
A littler nervous I might be rusty with my French, I wanted to find a French film that I could really open my ears and mind to French thought. While perusing the options on Netflix, I stumbled upon a documentary called Daguerreotypes, which I found would be the perfect thing to watch.
The basic premise is shooting a documentary of the day to day lives of people that lived in the 14 arrondiement of Paris, mostly along Rue Daguerre. Perfect to see the goings on of the busy streets of this little Parisian neighborhood.
I watched it, enthralled at how real to life it was, and how simple communications took place about the street, at the different businesses, the idle chit chat of older women gossiping or complaining about people or businesses they knew, etc. It was constant dialogue, which I kind of really needed. I didn't need a romantic comedy or dark drama, I needed to hear what I would hear whilst traversing the streets of Paris.
What struck me about this film was a certain couple that allowed the documentarian into their little business-granted this was filmed in 1976, so outdated, yes, however, having lived in France, it's all still not far off of what exists currently, aside from the fashions and technology.
This little business was a perfumery, where customers could purchase "Jasmine Water" for example, have it filled in a glass bottle of their choosing, and go about their day with their little gift. By the way, to see a bottle of Jasmine Water only cost 3 Francs! Wow that economy is so long gone, it's unreal. When I lived in France the $1.00 = 10 Francs, so this bottle of Jasmine Water sold for essentially about $0.30 or less!
So, the documentary was filming the man that ran his business, and his long time wife, whom had to be the saddest woman I have ever seen in my life. I wanted to know what her situation was, except I got the fact that she was terrified of the outside world, and would cling to her husband's side outside this little shoppe. One scene had her follow a couple of customer's out the door, took one step outside, and would be so uncomfortable being on the street, she stepped back inside the shoppe. She hardly spoke, was so super shy, and just stared a lot. The shoppe wasn't that big, and customers would see her and be kind of freaked out by her almost zombie demeanor.
Anyway, this documentary was a great choice to fill my ears and get my mind set to that French lady that needed to come out today, and it helped! The interview went great, and I felt great relief after leaving that I spoke quite well with the interviewer! It also helped the interviewer had her tiny Maltise pooch Bianca at her side.
So, a great suggestion to those that need to freshen up on a language learned, rather than flock to the "Palm D'Or" winners & "Oscar" nods, research documentaries-it's real and not scripted. If you can turn off the subtitles, that helps your understanding better to you focus on the expressions of the individuals and grasp what it is they are speaking of.
On that note, passez-vous une très bonne soirée!
No comments:
Post a Comment