The Academy Awards, which I look forward to each year, will be telecast Sunday evening, February 28, and this presents me with a confliction, for February 28 is also the birth date of legendary French filmmaker Marcel Pagnol. Seven years ago, on his anniversary, we had a party in his honor at our home with a group of French friends, all admirers of his work. (Could there be a Frenchman who is not?) Since then, each year on this date, we watch one of his films following dinner. Usually we select Manon des Sources (1986) though last year because Daniel Auteuil took it upon himself…

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Amour has captured the hearts of movie-buffs, critics, and those that bestow those coveted awards every year. The Austrian film—I know, you thought it was French!—swept France’s César Awards this past Friday evening: Best Film, Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay. It also received the Palme d’Or award at Cannes this past spring. At tonight’s Academy Awards, this wonderful movie is in contention for five Oscars: Best Picture, Best Actress in a Leading Role, Best Director, Best Foreign Language Film, and Best Original Screenplay. Sadly, Jean-Louis Trintignant was not nominated for Best Actor. Amour is not a movie for everyone. It…

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Should Woody Allen and Owen Wilson decide to follow Picasso to the South of France, surely Les Deux Garçons would feature prominently. Like Les Deux Magots, the famous café hang-out of Gertrude Stein’s Lost Generation in 1920s, Les Deux Garçons has long been a magnet for artists and writers in Aix-en-Provence. Les Deux Garçons’ roots reach back to 1792, but 53 cours Mirabeau had a long history before it became a café. The 17th century mansion is first mentioned in the historic accounts of Aix (that I read) as being the 1660s home of Francois de Gantès, lawyer in the court of the King Louis…

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