Weekend Assignment #68: Francophile

Weekend Assignment #68: Take a moment to appreciate something French. Tell us about that French thing you most appreciate. It could be anything, from a particular French wine to your favorite French filmmaker to the fact they like Jerry Lewis more than we.

No, French fries don't count...

Alrighty, then. Something French I appreciate. Hmmm. I was going to say Chopin until I discovered upon checking his biographical entry at Wikipedia that he was actually a transplanted Pole. Tricky fellows, the Polszka.

So then I thought about others and Erik Satie came to mind, as did the artists Cassatt, Monet, Manet and George Sands. Hmm, say I to meself, “I appreciate the Impressionists.”

''The Luncheon on the Grass''

Édouard Manet, 1862–1863

oil on canvas, 208 × 265.5 cm

Musée d'Orsay

Now, explaining why is more problematical. Perhaps it's the thousands of dabs of paint that make up an image. The gentle, subtle shading, the play of light and shadow between dabs. Perhaps it was the audacity to take on the Establishment. I don't know that I can pin point why I like The Impressionists. I just do.

Of course, there's other things I appreciate about France. Even though it was a joint Franco-Anglais project, I loved the Concorde as flown byAir France. They had the most beautiful men and women on their crews. Far superior to British Airways crews – we used to get them both here and the crews tended to hang out in one of my favorite watering holes back in the day. Not to put too fine of a point on the matter, I love young French women. Bridgette Bardot. Oh my! Catherine Deneuve.

I loved the movie, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, when I was becoming a teen – it was the first subtitled film I ever saw and the fact it's “dialogue” is sung ... well, I was blown away.

There's a lot about the French and France I appreciate. There's a lot I don't. And so it goes...