Paris Can Wait

The Tribeca Film Festival is happening in New York right now. It always brings together the best new films and I’m grateful that Lincoln Motor Company, who is a sponsor of the film festival, generously offers me passes each year. The hard part is figuring out what to see. I think I’ve chosen a few good movies to see this year the first one is one I think you will also want to see.

Last night, I went to the premier screening of Paris Can Wait. It’s the perfect film for Francophiles and foodies. In the film, Diane Lane is married to movie producer Alec Baldwin. They are in Cannes about to go to Paris when he is called away to Budapest. Instead of going with him, she accepts a ride to Paris with his French colleague Jacques in his vintage Peugeot. Instead of driving directly to Paris, the Frenchman takes his time so they can stop at all the best restaurants along the way. It was the most delightful and charming movie that I can’t wait to see again.

Paris Can Wait also marks Eleanor Coppola’s narrative directorial and screening debut at the age of 81. Her previous films were documentaries that included Heart of Darkness. She said the film was inspired by a road trip she had taken in France when a French associate of her husband drove her to the airport in Paris eight years ago. It was so inspiring that when she told a friend about the trip, they replied that it was a film they would want to see. She decided to take their advice and write the screenplay with the help of a seasoned screenwriter. When it came time to find a director for the film, her husband, Francis Ford Coppola, suggested that she direct it. She prepared by taking acting classes and figured it out. “It was terrifying, but part of the challenge was cutting through all of your fears and just going for it.” A great lesson that it’s never too late to try something new.

After the premier, Diane Lane and French actor Arnaud Viard were joined by the filmmaker Eleanor Coppola for a question and answer session. Eleanor and Diane described the film’s message by saying, “There’s more to life than racing through emails and you need to stop and smell the roses. You also need to sometimes surrender to someone to take you on a journey to discover a new place.”

A good reminder for all of us.

 

from Habitually Chic®