Ta Da!

No one is going to give Les femmes du 6ème étage an award for pushing the boundaries of cinema or for the daring performances of its cast.  But this film is doing big business at the box office and I'm giving it a huge gold star too.  Why?  Because I understood it -- lock, stock, and barrel, no subtitles, no French friend whispering in my ear.  I laughed at the jokes (well, most of them) and got a little tear in my eye at the tender moments.  

I am still a long way from fully mastering the French language.  Even so, I'm feeling good about the progress I've made.  It was particularly apparent after our visit to Budapest last month where I couldn't read a sign, ask a simple direction, or make heads or tails of the Hungarian language.  I kept looking at my sheet of phrases to remember how to say please, thank you,  hello, and the words kept flying out of my head.   Frankly, it was a relief to come back to Paris where I understand the announcements made over the PA in the subway, can read the newspaper, listen to the radio, and order from the menu without having to ask for the English version.   I may not have conquered the subjunctive but honestly, I'm doing fine and pleased to see that the time I've put in has really paid off.

And if you have a chance to see the film, whether in the cinema in Paris or eventually on video in the privacy of your home,  I hope you will enjoy it.  It's a sweet, thoroughly fanciful tale, set in the 1960s, about a Parisian gentleman whose world and heart is opened up by a group of Spanish domestics who live on the 6th floor of his apartment building in the 16th arrondissement.