To PARIS with LOVE.

Photo courtesy Artist Jean Jullien

 TO PARIS WITH   LOVE !!!

It has been over 24 hours since the multiple terrorist bombings in the city of Paris, France on 13/11/15. What shocked me the most about these attacks were the locations that the suicide bombers and gunmen choose. Outside a football stadium, inside a rock concert, at a cafe, at a restaurant; this is not just attack on French citizens but an attack on life.

I have never been to Paris but I wish to see it one day. The power of cinema has time and time again given me the opportunity to visit France through the many films that I have seen in my life. Some of my favourite movies and actors are French and I know when I go there I will surely fall in love with that country and their capital city.

As I mourn those who died in the attacks, I can't help but think of the films, music and art that I love that are based in France and I wish to share a few links of memories as we try to heal.

If you have never seen Woody Allen's 2011 film 'Midnight in Paris" then you should do yourself a favour and see it. Owen Wilson play a modern American writer who idolizes Paris in the 1920's.

In an almost magical way he gets transported to the time period of 1920's Paris and has many epiphanies about life by interacting with Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Pablo Picasso and Gertrude Stein among others.

This movie is Woody Allen's love note to the city of Paris. It opens with beautiful shots of the city and even shows Paris in the rain. Click here to see the opening scene.

Click here for the trailer.



Please check out this scene from the 1942 film "Casablanca" starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman. It is a powerful scene set in World War II where Nazis and French citizens clash in song. It is "La Marseillaise", the French national anthem being sung and it a scene that always move me.

Please also watch this video of French singer Mireille Mathieu singing La Marseillaise with the iconic Eiffel Tower in the background. If you want to understand what the lyrics mean in English please click here.


Please also see this video of French singer Serge Gainsbourg's 1966 song "Je t'aime...mon non plus" with his girlfriend at the time Jane Birkin. It is an absolute favourite of mine and this video shows some amazing shots of Paris and the Eiffel Tower in the 1960's.

I also would like you to check out Russian born singer Regina Spektor's  version of the song "Don't Leave Me (Ne me Quitte Pas) from 2012 click here. She says "I Love Paris in the Rain" in the last part of the song and I think it ties in beautifully with the film Midnight in Paris. The original was sung by legendary Belgian born singer Jacques Brel in 1959, you can hear it by clicking here.

I often heal from tragedy and sorrow through art so it would be my pleasure if any of these links and suggestions can help you to heal and find your love for Paris, France and for the French way of life.
VIVE LA FRANCE !!!