Sometimes, I find myself rewatching a film many years later and enjoying it even more the second time. Joueuse (shjoo-uhz), means “player,” but specifically a female player; it was originally released in 2009 and I think I must have seen it shortly therafter. I really prefer the English title, Queen to Play, as it is much more evocative of the story line.
The movie is set in Corsica, and the scenery is simply gorgeous. It’s the story of Hélène, a hotel chambermaid who also cleans house for an American ex-pat. After watching some guests at the hotel play a game of chess that was charged with sensuality, she bought a computer chess game for her husband’s birthday, apparently hoping to strike the same sparks. When the gift falls terribly flat, Hélène tries to teach herself.
When she finds that she can only get so far on her own, she trades housekeeping services for chess lessons with her reluctant, grumpy American client. Hélène is very gifted and makes such great progress that her teacher urges her to enter a local competition. The title comes from the fact that the Queen is the most powerful piece in chess, which stands in opposition to Hélène’s relative powerlessness. The film deals with social class, relationships, pursuing dreams, and the role of women.
Sandrine Bonnaire plays Hélène, but I must confess she’s not an actress I am familiar with. Her American ex-pat client, however is the much more famous Kevin Kline. He must have an affinity for France, as he played a Frenchman in French Kiss with Meg Ryan (1995), in which he speaks English with a heavy French accent. In this film, the situation is reversed; Kline speaks decent French, but with an American accent.
I won’t spoil the ending for you, but it’s a woman-power moment that I hope you will enjoy. I found Joueuse on Amazon Prime.
I recently enrolled Amazon Prime for the free grocery delivery (life changing – don’t even get me started) and have been exploring their film options as they have some options not available on Netflix. I had just had the film 
The title means “what connects us” and in this case, the connection was the inheritance of the family vineyard by three very different siblings as well as all of the heavy emotional bagage of their childhoods. There are heavy death taxes to be paid and insufficient resources. The will stipulates that all three must be in agreement to sell all of the land, or certain parcels, or just the house – and agreement is not easy to come by.
I’m the fourth of five siblings, and I doubt that we could come to an agreement of the day of the week, so their struggles rang true to me. The film is directed by Cédric Klapisch, who made his name with L’Auberge Espagnol (2002). English subtitles are available and you’ll get the bonus of new words to add to your wine tasting vocabulary. The ending is realistic, but probably not one that you had anticipated. Blood is thicker than wine, as well as water.
I’m fascinated by the life and talent of 18th century portrait painter, Elizabeth Vigée LeBrun. I’ve written about her a number of times on this blog. A few years ago, I bought a video about her when I was in France to show to my students. Its production coincided with a major traveling exhibit dedicated to the artist that traveled from Paris, to New York (where I saw it), and then to Ottawa. I just found the video, voiced over in English, on Amazon Prime, with the title The Fabulous Life of Vigée LeBrun (the French title is Le Fabuleux destin d’Elizabeth Vigée LeBrun). It’s a 90 minute introduction to the life, technique, and turbulent times of this incredibly talented artist.
The film intersperses clips of actors portraying the story with commentary by world-renowned experts on Vigée LeBrun. It reminded me of a few interesting stories, for example, she was refused access to the Royal Academy by the traditional route because her husband was an art dealer. Women were considered to have the same occupation of their husbands, so Vigée LeBrun was also considered to be “in trade.” When she did get accepted, through her connection as Marie Antoinette’s portraitist, her recption piece, an allegory of La Paix ramenant l’Abondance (Peace Brings Back Prosperity), used female figures as women painters were not allowed to paint from male nudes and recption pieces required historical or allegorical subjects.
So many of her male subjects from her earliest years have a far-off gaze as she found that this kept them from leering at her during the long hours of posing, even though her mother was there as a chaperone. When Vigée LeBrun was in exile in Rome, she was invited to paint the Pope, but declined as she would have had to do so while veiled. She struggled against sexism and carved her own path in a country that was headed full-tilt to a time of extraordinary malice and blood lust. If you enjoy learning about French history or art, I think you’ll really like this film.
I think I’m now the greatest expert on 18th century French fans in the Boston area. I just finished reading 
I started reading it when I got home, but then I misplaced it. I looked high and low to no avail. When Christmas morning came, the book reappeared – wrapped as a present from my husband. He somehow thought he’d bought it for me. I haven’t let him live that one down. Since then, our daughter has taken him in hand to help him at Christmas.
Once I had the book back, I didn’t dive right back in. Since I’ve beed trying to read through my backlog of books before buying any new ones, it was time to finally become an expert on fans. Here are some fun fan facts:
I mentioned a few posts ago that I had recently listened to the 
I continue to work through the backlog of unread books so that I’ll be able to buy new ones with a clear conscience. I bought 
When Peter Mayle passed away in 2018, I realized that I had never read any of his books; my only connection was having watched 
Sam Levitt is an investigator who seems to be a modern Sam Spade. All the usual tropes are there: guns, gangsters, and a beautiful gal on his arm. This is NOT high literature and the sexist banter may set your teeth on edge at times, but overall it’s a lighthearted read or listen. Along the way, Mayle drops restaurant, wine, and hotel recommendations as Levitt wrangles bad guys who have some high-class connections. It’ll make you itch to book your next trip to the sunny south of France, particularly if you are living through winter in New England!
