Monday, June 29, 2009

Answer to Yesterday's Guess Who


Michèle Morgan (born 29 February 1920) is a French film actress, who was a leading lady for trois décennie.

Morgan was born Simone Renée Roussel in Neuilly-sur-Seine, a western suburb of Paris.

She left home at l’âge of 15 for Paris determined to become an actress. She took acting leçons from René Simon while serving as an extra in several films to pay for her drama classes. She was noticed by director Marc Allégret who offered her a major role in the film Gribouille in 1937, opposite Raimu. Then came the film Le Quai des brumes by Marcel Carné in 1938, opposite the great French actor Jean Gabin, and Remorques in 1941. These two films established her as one of the leading actress of the time in french cinema.

Upon the invasion of France in 1940 by the Germans, Morgan left for les États Unis and Hollywood where she was contracted to RKO Pictures. Her carrière there proved rather disappointing, apart from Joan of Paris opposite Paul Henreid in 1942, Higher and Higher opposite Frank Sinatra in 1943. She was tested and strongly considered for the female lead in Casablanca but RKO would not release her for the amount of money that Warner Bros. offered. Morgan did work for Warners in Passage to Marseille opposite Humphrey Bogart in 1944. Nothing major came her way.

The war over, Morgan returned to France and quickly picked up her career with the 1946 film, La symphonie pastorale by Jean Delannoy, which earned her the "Best Actress" award at the Cannes Film Festival. Other notable films include Fabiola (1949), The Proud and the Beautiful (1953) by Yves Allégret, Les Grandes Manœuvres by René Clair (1955), Marie-Antoinette reine de France (1956).

trois décennie (twah day sehn ee) -3 decades

l’âge (lahz) -the age

leçons (leh sohn) -lessons

les États Unis (layz ay taht yoo nee) -the United States

carrière (kah ree ehr) -career

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Guess Who


Guess who this famous French person is.

Answer will be posted tomorrow.

Quick Phrase of the Day - He Is The Same Age As Me

il a le même âge que moi (eel ah leh mehm ahz keh mwah) -He is the same age as me

Repeat this phrase all day long till you know it by heart.

Vocabulary word of the day:
mèmoire (mehm wah) - memory
il a une bonne mèmoire (eel ah oon bohn mehm wah) -He has a good memory
____________________________________________________

Children's word of the Day - Volcano
Kids, when you see a picture of a volcano, say "un volcan"

Friday, June 26, 2009

Must See French Film -French Twist


French Twist, also known as Gazon maudit, is a 1995 French comedy film. It was written and directed by co-star Josiane Balasko.

Laurent (Alain Chabat) and Loli (Victoria Abril) are a thirty-ish married couple living in southern France avec their young child. He is an estate agent; she is a housewife. Laurent has extramarital affairs.

Loli is unaware that her husband is unfaithful. Then un jour, a truck breaks down in front of their home. The driver is Marijo (Josiane Balasko), a 40-ish butch lesbian who works as aplumber. She asks to use their phone. Loli has a stopped-up sink, so in exchange for using the téléphone, Marijo gets Loli's drain back in working order. Loli et Marijo begin an affair. Laurent is upset, but then his friend Antoine (Ticky Holgado) accidentally reveals Laurent's philandering to Loli. This seems to justify her amour. Marijo moves into the house.

Antoine then suggests that Laurent let Loli have her way, cease all hostility, and wait for the affair to burn out. Laurent agrees, and the household becomes a seemingly idyllic ménage à trois. But his strategy has its effect, especially after another lesbian couple, old friends of Marijo, happen by. Laurent welcomes them, but Loli becomes annoyed and jealous.

Marijo decides that the situation is not really going to travail. She knows that Laurent wants her to leave. While Loli is away on a trip, Marijo makes a deal with Laurent. She will break up with Loli and leave immediately, if Laurent will give her something she has wanted for years: a baby. Laurent has sex with Marijo to get her pregnant, and Marijo departs before Loli returns. Laurent tells Loli nothing, as agreed with Marijo.

Laurent and Loli settle back down to their old life, but their relationship has been deeply affected. Then Loli hears from a mutual acquaintance that Marijo is living in Paris and is several months pregnant. Loli is astonished and shocked. She insists that she and Laurent go to Paris and contact Marijo. They find her working as a DJ in a lesbian dance club. Their intrusion provokes a quarrel with the club owner, who fires Marijo. Loli and Laurent take her back to their home, where she has her baby.

The ménage à trois is re-established, with the two mothers caring for their enfants. In a final twist, Laurent is seen hesitantly flirting with a handsome male client.

enfants (ahn fahn) -children

travail (trah vah ee) -work

amour (ah morr) -love, romance

et (ay) -and

téléphone (tay lay fohn) -phone

un jour (uhn zhoor) -one day

avec (ah vehk) -with

couple (koo pluh) -couple

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Quick Phrase of the Day -The Bill Adds Up To...

l’addition s’élève à cent euros (lah dee shee yohn say lehv ah sahnt oo roh) -the bill adds up to 100 Euros.

Repeat this phrase all day long till you know it by heart.

Vocabulary word of the day:
créer (kray ehr) -to create
ça va créer des problèmes (sah vah kray ehr day prah blehm) -It will cause problems

Children's Word of the Day - Ceiling

Kids, when you look up at the ceiling, point to it and say "un plafond"

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Quick Phrase of the Day - I Intend To Do Something

J'ai l'entention de faire quelque chose (zhay lahn tehn shee yohn deh fair kell kuh shohz) - I intend to do something

Repeat this phrase all day long till you know it by heart

Vocabulary word of the day:
instructions (een struhk shee yohn) -instuctions
il m’a donné des instructions précises (eel mah dohn ay dayz een struhk shee yohn pray seez) - He gave me precise instructions

Monday, June 22, 2009

Quick Phrase of the Day -Pass Me...

Passe-moi cette boîte de petits pois. (pass mwah seht bwaht deh peh teet pwah) pass me that can of peas

Repeat this phrase all day long till you know.

Vocabulary word of the day:
un ouvre-boîtes (uhn ooh vruh bwaht) -can opener
Passe-moi le ouvre-boîtes (pass mwah leh ooh vruh bwaht) -Pass me the can opener

Answer to Yesterdays Guess Who


Jean-Louis Trintignant (born on December 11, 1930 in Piolenc, Vaucluse) is a French actor.


At the age of twenty, Trintignant moved to Paris to study drama, and made his theatrical debut in 1951 going on to be seen as one of the most gifted French actors of the post-warera. After touring in the early 1950s in several theater productions, his first motion picture appearance came in 1955 and the following year he gained stardom with his performance opposite Brigitte Bardot in Roger Vadim's And God Created Woman.

From a wealthy family, he is the nephew of race car driver, Louis Trintignant, who was killed in 1933 while practicing on the Péronne racetrack in Picardie. His other uncle, Maurice Trintignant (1917-2005), was a Formula One driver who twice won the Monaco Grand Prix as well as the 24 hours of Le Mans. Raised in and around automobile racing, Jean-

Louis Trintignant was the natural choice of film director Claude Lelouch for the starring role of race car driver in the 1966 film, Un homme et une femme, a global success that made him an international star.

Trintignant’s acting was interrupted for several years by mandatory military service. After serving in Algiers, he returned to Paris and a very successful career.

Trintignant had leading roles in art-house classics such as The Sleeping Car Murders, Un homme et une femme (A Man and a Woman) (at the time the most successful French film ever screened in the foreign market), Bertolucci's The Conformist, and the 1969 political thrillerZ, in which he portrayed an idealistic young attorney.

He enjoyed an international following and won the Best Actor award at the 1969 Cannes Film Festival.

In Italy, always dubbed into Italian, he worked with Valerio Zurlini in Summer Violent and The Desert of the Tartars, Ettore Scola's La terrazza, Bernardo Bertolucci's The Conformist, but especially the cult film The Easy Life by Dino Risi.

Children's Word of the Day - Bus

Kids, yesterday we did "school bus". Today we are going to to a regular city bus. It is "l'autobus"

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Special Phrase of the Day

Aujourd'hui est le premier jour de l'été (oh zhoor doo wee ay leh preh mee yay zhoor deh lay tay) -Today is the 1st day of summer

Guess Who


Guess who this famous French person is.

Answer will be posted tomorrow.

Special Phrase of the Day -Happy Father's Day

"Bonne fête des pères" (bohn feht day pehr) -Happy Father's Day

Children's Word of the Day -School Bus

Okay kids, this is a long one. Whe you see a school bus say "un car de ramassage scolaire"

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Quick Phrase of the Day - Everyone Was In Disquise

tout le monde était déguisé (too leh mahnd ay tay day *gee zay) -Everyone was in disguise

* note the "gee" sound is a hard g sound like the g in "gate" or "gold", not a soft g sound like in "gentil"

Repeat this phrase all day long till you know it by heart.

Vocabulary word of the day"
citation (see tay shee yohn) -quote
c'est une citation de Shakespeare (seht oon see tay shee yohn deh Shakespeare) -It's a quote from Shakespeare

Children's Word of the Day - Rain

Kids, when you see it raining, say "la pluie"

Friday, June 19, 2009

Virginie Ledoyen -French Actress


Virginie Ledoyen (born 15 November, 1976) is a French actress.

Ledoyen was born Virginie Fernandez in Paris, France but spent most of her youth inAubervilliers, the northeastern suburb of Paris.

She was a print model from the age of 2 and later took on the stage name "Ledoyen" after the maiden name of her maternal grandmother, who had been a stage actress.

Her breakthrough came with La Fille seule (1995) for which she was nominated for a César Award for Most Promising Actress. Also she received two César Award nominations for Les marmottes (1993) and L'eau froide (1994). Outside of France, her best-known role is alongside Leonardo DiCaprio in The Beach (2000). In the fall of 2000, she signed a contract with L'Oréal, as a spokesmodel with the cosmetics company. She was featured alongside two models Laetitia Casta and Noémie Lenoir.

Children's Word of the Day - Shirt

Kids, when you put on a shirt, say "une chemise"

Our good friend Isabelle let us know the original word i had poster "un maillot" is not used except when you say "un maillot de bain" oon may oh deh bahn) -a bathing suit. Merci Isabelle.

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Quick Phrase of the Day - I Spoke To Them About It

je leur en ai parlé (zhuh lure ahn ay pahr lay) - I spoke to them about it.
Repeat this phrase al day long till you know it by heart.

Vocabulary word of the day:
repos (ray poh) -rest
il te faut du repos ( eel teh foh doo ray poh) -You need some rest

Children's Word of the Day - Eiffel Tower

Kids, when you see a picture of the Eiffel Tower, say "la tour Eiffel"

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Robert Doisneau -French Photographer


Robert Doisneau (April 14, 1912 - April 1, 1994) was a French photographer noted for his frank and often humorous depictions of Parisian street life.

Robert Doisneau was one of France's most popular and prolific reportage photographers. He was known for his modest, playful, and ironic images of amusing juxtapositions, mingling social classes, and eccentrics in contemporary Paris streets and cafes. Influenced by the work of Kertész, Atget, and Cartier-Bresson, in over 20 books Doisneau has presented a charming vision of human frailty and life as a series of quiet, incongruous moments. Doisneau has written

: "The marvels of daily life are exciting; no movie director can arrange the unexpected that you find in the street."

Among his most recognizable work is Le baiser de l'hôtel de ville (Kiss by the Hôtel de Ville), a photo of a couple kissing in the busy streets of Paris. The identity of the couple was a mystery until 1993, when Denise and Jean-Louis Lavergne took Doisneau to court for taking the picture without their knowledge. This action prompted Doisneau to reveal that he posed the shot in 1950 using actor/models Françoise Bornet and Jacques Carteaud. Françoise was given an original print as part of her payment. In April 2005 she sold the print for 155,000 € at an auction. All in all Paris was one of the favorite photographic subjects of Doisneau. Doisneau's work gives unusual prominence and dignity to children's street culture; returning again and again to the theme of children at play in the city, unfettered by parents. His work treats their play with seriousness and respect.

Doisneau -Portrait of Picasso

Children's Word of the Day - Keyboard

Kids, when you use the keyboard, say "le clavier"

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

A.S. Dragon - French Rock Group


A.S. Dragon is a French rock group, consisting of the members Stéphane Salvi (guitar), Michaël Garçon (piano), David Forgione remplace Fred Jimenez (bass) and Hervé Bouétard (drums). Natacha Le Jeune (singer) quit the group in 2007.

Formed by the label Tricatel, A.S. Dragon was originally created by their founder Bertrand Burgalat as a group to accompany the writer/poet/singer Michel Houellebecq. They founded the group out of many former members of Montecarl, and the singer, Uminski, was a childhood friend of Romain Humeau, the singe of Eiffel, who had formerly been the "backing band" of Houellebecq.

The founder members of A.S. Dragon were mostly influenced by pop from the 60s/70s, which can be found in their sugary compositions, classical arrangements, and psychedelia, typical of the genre. But the arrival of Natacha in the group expanded their musical horizons to sound more like a female Iggy Pop and included references to the Stooges, in their music (more aggressive sounding), in the lyrics, (the song "I wanna be your doll" recalls the famous "I Wanna Be Your Dog"), and overall in their noisy concerts, which literally showed their rock energy.

Certain fans thought that A.S. Dragon were a key group on the scene : Natacha has a very physical presence, and she played with her public persona.

Children's Word of the Day - Treasure Map

Kids, when you see a treasure map, say "une carte au trésor"

Monday, June 15, 2009

Quick Phrase of the Day -It's Like A Science Fiction Film

C'est un vrai film de science fiction (seht uhn vray feelm deh see ahnce feek shee ohn) -It's like a science fiction film.

Repeat this phrase all day long till you know it by heart.

Vocabulary word of the day:
ensemble (ahn sahm bluh) -together
Vous voyagez ensemble? (voo vwoy ah zhay ahn sahm bluh) -You're traveling together?

Children's Word of the Day - Balcony

Kids, when you see a balcony, say "un balcon"

Friday, June 12, 2009

Louis Hector Berlioz -French Composer


Louis Hector Berlioz (December 11, 1803 – March 8, 1869) was a French Romantic composer, best known for his compositions Symphonie fantastique and Grande Messe des morts (Requiem). Berlioz made significant contributions to the modern orchestra with his Treatise on Instrumentation. He specified huge orchestral forces for some of his works; as a conductor, he performed several concerts with more than 1,000 musicians. He also composed around 50 songs for voice and guitar.
Although neglected in France for much of the 19th century, the music of Berlioz has often been cited as extremely influential in the development of the symphonic form, instrumentation, and the depiction in music of programmatic and literary ideas, features central to musical Romanticism. He was considered extremely progressive for his day, and he, Wagner, and Liszt have been called the "Great Trinity of Progress" of 19th century Romanticism.
Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique-4th Movement

Children's Word of the Day - Square

Kids, when you see a square, point to it and say "un carré"

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Nathalie Baye


Nathalie Marie Andrée Baye (born 6 July 1948) is a four-time César award-winning French actress. Also she has been nominated a further five times.

Her first cinema appearance was in Two People directed by Robert Wise. Then she rose to fame as the 'script girl' in La Nuit américaine (Day for Night) by François Truffaut. Throughout the 1970s she played the roles of good girlfriend and nice provincial in both film and television.

In 1981 she won her first César, for best supporting artist in Sauve qui peut (la vie) by Jean-Luc Godard. There then followed an impressive sequence of success and rise to stardom with Le Retour de Martin Guerre and La Balance.

She became one of the most popular and renowned French actresses, gaining two more Césars (Best Supporting Female for A Strange Affair, and Best Actress in 1982 for La Balance. Her 4 year relationship with Johnny Hallyday made them a leading celebrity couple and their daughter Laura is now actress Laura Smet.

After changing her image by playing the part of a streetwalker in La Balance, she further widened her scope with more obscure characters inJ'ai épousé une ombre and En toute innocence. In 1986 she returned to the theatre with an interpretation of Adriana Monti.

1999 started a glittering year as she was voted Best Supporting Actress at Venice Film Festival for Une liaison pornographique and in 2000 starred in the multi-award winning film Vénus Beauté (Institut) by Tonie Marshall

Since 2002 she has had many new collaborations including Claude Chabrol and Steven Spielberg, and remains one of France's busiest and most popular actresses of stage, screen and television.

Children's Word of the Day -Circle

Kids, when you see a circle, say "un cercle"

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Quick Phrase of the Day -She Must Be Angry

elle doit être en colère (ell dwaht eh truh ahn koh lehr) - She must be angry

Repeat this phrase all day long till you know it by heart.

Vocabulary word of the day:
les mariés (lay mah ree ay) -the newlyweds
les mariés reçoivent beaucoup de cadeaux (lay mah ree ay reh kwahv boh koo deh kah doh) -the newlyweds reveived lots of presents

One Of My Favorite Foods -French Toast


Although French Toast didn't originate in France
In France, the dish is called pain perdu, or "lost bread", since it is a way to reclaim stale, "lost", bread: hard bread is softened by dipping in a mixture of milk and eggs, then fried. The bread is sliced on a bias and dipped into a mixture of egg, milk, sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla. The slices are pan-fried in butter and traditionally served dusted with powdered sugar and with jam on the side. Alternatively it may be served with syrup.

A contradictory, though highly dubious, creation myth holds that French toast owes its creation to an Albany, N.Y., innkeeper named Joseph French. Legend has it that French whipped up a batch of the golden-brown treats in 1724 and advertised them as "French toast" because he'd never learned to use an apostrophe "s."

Children's Phrase of the Day -Question Mark

Ok Kids, this is a long one, so when you see a question mark, say "un point d'interrogation"

Monday, June 8, 2009

Quick Phrase of the Day - We Ate Fried Chicken Last Night

On a mangé du poulet frit hier soir (ahn ah mahn zhay doo poo lay free eer swah) -We ate fried chicken last night.

Repeat this phrase all day long till you know it by heart.

Vocabulary word of the day:
lettre personnelle (leh truh purr sohn ell) -personal letter
C'est ma lettre personnelle (say mah leh truh purr sohn ell) - It is my personal letter

Saturday, June 6, 2009

Quick Phrase of the Day - It's On The Hillside

c'est à flanc de coteau (seht ah flahnk deh koh toh) -It's on the hillside

Repeat this phrase all day long till you know it by heart.

Vocabulary word of the day:
hilarant / hilarante (hill ah rahn / hill ah rahnt) -hilarious
vous êtes hilarant (vooz eht hill ah rahn) you are hilarious (about a male)
vous êtes hilarante (vooz eht hill ah rahnt) -you are hilarious (about a female)

Johnny Hallyday Song of the Day -Vivre Pour Le Meilleur

Children's Word of the Day - Window

Kids, when you look at a window, point to it and say, "la fenêtre"

Friday, June 5, 2009

Answer To Yesterday's Guess Who



Anouk Aimée (born 27 April 1932) is an Academy Award-nominated, Golden Globe-winning French film actress.

Aimée was born Françoise Sorya Dreyfus in Paris, France, the daughter of actors Geneviève Sorya (born Durand) and Henri Murray (born Dreyfus).

Aimée began her film career in 1947 at age 14. In 1958 she portrayed the tragic artist Jeanne Hébuterne in the film Les Amants de Montparnasse. She later appeared in La dolce vita, andJacques Demy's Lola. She won the 1967 Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in the film that brought her international fame, A Man and a Woman. In 1980, she received the Award for Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival for her performance in Marco Bellocchio's Salto nel vuoto (Leap Into The Void), as won Michel Piccoli (her partner in the movie) the Best Actor Prize.

Children's Phrase of the Day - Fog

Kids, when you see fog outside, point to it and say, "un brouillard"

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Quick Phrase of the Day- It Will Capture Your Imagination

il stimulera votre imagination (eel stee mew leh rah voh truh ee mah zhee nay shee yohn) -It will capture/stimulate your imagination

Repeat this phrase all day long till you know it by heart.

Vocabulary word of the day:
le week-end dernier (leh week ehn durr nee yay) -last weekend
Tu te rappelles ce qu'on a fait le week-end dernier (too teh rah pell seh kohn ah fay leh week ehnd durr nee yay) - Can you think of what we did last weekend?

Guess Who


Guess who this famous French Person is.

Answer will be posted tomorrow.

Children's Word of the Day - Gloves

Kids, when you see a pair of gloves, say "mes gants"

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Pierre Étienne Théodore Rousseau -French Artist



Pierre Étienne Théodore Rousseau (April 15, 1812 - December 22, 1867), French painter of the Barbizon school, was born in Paris, of abourgeois family which included one or two artists.
Rousseau's pictures are always grave in character, with an air of exquisite melancholy which is powerfully attractive to the lover of landscapes. They are well finished when they profe
ss to be completed pictures, but Rousseau spent so long a time in working up his subjects that his absolutely completed works are comparatively few. He left many canvases with parts of the picture realized in. detail and with the remainder somewhat vague; and a
lso a good number of sketches and water-color drawings. His pen work in monochrome on paper is rare; it is particularly searching in quality. There are a number of fine pict
ures by him in the Louvre, and the Wallace collection. contains one of his most important Barbizon pictures. There is also an example in the Ionides collection at th
e Victoria and Albert Museum.

Children's Word of the Day - Rooster

Kids, when you see a rooster, point to it and say, "un coq"

Monday, June 1, 2009

French Film for People Who Don't Like Subtitles



FRANTIC (1988) Harrison Ford plays Dr Richard Walker, a surgeon visiting Paris with his wife for a medical conference. At their hotel his wife is unable to open her suitcase and Walker tells her she has picked up the wrong one at the airport. While Walker is taking a shower his wife mysteriously disappears from their hotel room. Still jet-lagged, he searches for her in the hotel with the help of a polite but mostly indifferent staff, then wanders outside to look further on his own. A street-person overhears him in a café and tells Walker he saw his wife being forced into a car. Walker is sceptical until he finds his wife's ID bracelet on the cobblestones. He contacts the US embassy and the Paris police but their responses are bureaucratic and there is little hope anyone will look for her. As Walker carries on the search himself (with input from a very sympathetic but wary desk clerk at the hotel) he stumbles onto a murder scene and then the streetwise young Michelle (Emmanuelle Seigner) who mistakenly picked up his wife's suitcase at the airport. It transpires that she is a career smuggler but does not know for whom she is working, and thus reluctantly helps Walker. This begins his frantic attempt, with the young woman's help, to learn what was in the switched suitcase and trade whatever it was for his wife's life.
It turns out that hidden within a small replica of the Statue of Liberty is a krytron, a small switch capable of detonating nuclear devices. The film ends with a confrontation on the River Seine where the terrorists hand Walker his wife back. However, a firefight ensues between the terrorists and other agents, and Michelle is killed in the crossfire. Angry and upset, Walker throws the krytron into the river.
The French locations and Ennio Morricone's musical score create much of the film's atmosphere.Grace Jones' recording of "I've Seen That Face Before (Libertango)" is heard at key moments in the film.

Children's Word of the Day - Juggler

Kids, when you see a juggler, say "un jongleur" (for a boy juggler), and "une jongleuse" (for a girl jugglera)