Works of heArt

Just as I was going to write a lamenting post about how I am tired of this endless winter, the sun came out and the rest of snow is melting and everything seems cheerier.

Since quite a long time I planned to post the painting of a Kulobi dancer which I finished last spring. Kulob is a region in Tajikistan where ancient traditions are kept sacredly from generation to generation. Their beautiful dances and colorful, hand-made clothes are captivating. So now I just have finished a “sister” painting of a Kulobi dancer – “On the market”. Both paintings measure 150 cm x 50 cm, medium: acrylic paint on cotton canvas.

They are not cutting edge contemporary art pieces, but warm memories that come from the heart, colorful souvenirs that can brighten up someone’s day.

Embroidered piece from Central Asia (Suzani). Designs often include flowers and circular forms signifying the sun.

 Have a sunny weekend.

Love,

AB

Parlez-vous Français?..

Handkerchiefs come very handy this chilly winter.

A frozen fountain in front of the Zurich train station...

So when a friend invited me to watch a film “Les petits mouchoirs” (English title: “Little white lies”) I thought: “Hmm, how appropriate”. (The selection of French cheeses and wine accompanying the screening was almost as tempting as the delicious summer movie by Guillaume Canet…)

- You know why it is called “Les petits mouchoirs”, by the way?
- I don’t know… Maybe they do some Russian folk dance in the middle of the film?
- Yeah, funny. Actually no, the French say: if you got a problem, take a handkerchief (un mouchoir), wrap it in and put it in your pocket…

“At 35, you don't look at things the same way as when you're 20, you've already taken a few knocks. I decided to enter a process of analysis—a fairly time-consuming process that was more productive than I could ever have imagined because it resulted in me writing this script in under five months. That's what makes the movie so special for me. I cannot make a more personal movie than LES PETITS MOUCHOIRS”. (from the interview with the movie director Guillaume Canet, http://www.quinsreviews.com/).

Guillaume Canet

It’s a dramatic comedy about friendship and human interaction, about inner conflicts and explosions of unexpected reactions. It is life shot from the inside. You are being pulled into the screen, on the sandy beaches and cozy sofas and into the broken hearts. What moves me especially is the film’s versatility, the power to touch a person of any age. Sitting in a semidarkness I notice people having their emotional moments, laughing and crying at their own reflections on the screen, all at different times.

Oh, yes…The soundtrack is outstanding…Have a look:

The cast is perfect too: Gilles Lellouche, Marion Cotillard, François Cluzet , Jean Dujardin… Anyway, it seems those Frenchies are taking over me a little by little… With their cheeses and wines, their humor and sensibility, and their cinema, of course.

Another must-see is “Intouchables”, a French drama and a comedy about a paralyzed Parisian aristocrat and a young offender of Senegalese descent, who become inseparable. Inspired by a true story the film is even more poignant.

So grab a good friend and go to see a good film - this endless winter will seem a little warmer and a little shorter.
 
Je vous aime,
AB