Becoming a Francophiliac

When flying international, we like to book the national airline of our destination. This way, our cultural immersion can start before we even leave the US. On previous trips, we have flown Swiss Air, China Air, Finnair, LOT (Polish), Air Lingus (Ireland), even Aeroflot (Russian). So it was a no-brainer to book a red-eye on Air France to Paris. Besides, with the recent controversies over at Boeing, we felt a little safer flying on an Airbus which is an European commercial airplane builder.  One of the real benefits of flying Air France is access to French movies without American distributors. And what luck, I didn't know Michel Gondry (my absolutely favorite French director) had made a new movie called The Book of Solutions and it was available to stream right on my seatback screen. Gondry hasn't made a major feature film since Mood Indigo in 2015 (I was one of the few people who actually appreciated what many people dismissed as an incomprehensible disaster). So I sat back, ...

Going to France is a big deal. To really appreciate France, you shouldn't just hop on a plane to Paris and go visit the Eiffel Tower. One has to know at least a little about French culture, travel a little bit around Europe first, drink a little wine, and then perhaps work your way up to the Holy Grail of travel destinations. I didn't realize it, but I've been preparing myself for this trip of a lifetime most of my life. It all started in high school when my psychology teacher took me to see Black Moon , my first French film. I didn't understand the movie, but I immediately knew this one was different. This was an "art" film. Later, when the director's name appeared on the poster for Pretty Baby  and I intuitively became aware of what I later learned was called the " auteur theory" (a French invention). Soon I was following Louis Malle, then Francois Truffaut, Alain Resnais, and later Michel Gondry -- and I became a film geek. Then there were th...