My Five Favourite Movies Set in Paris

I'm going to Paris in a week's time so I thought it would be fun to write a post about my favourite movies that are set in Paris. 

Midnight in Paris (dir. Woody Allen)

Midnight in Paris is like a love letter to the city. It has some of the most beautiful shots of Paris and it takes you right across the city and the surrounding area stopping off at Monet's Garden in Giverny, the Palace of Versailles, the Seine and the Latin Quarter. Written and directed by Woody Allen, it tells the story of a Hollywood screenwriter and aspiring novelist, Gill Pender (Owen Willson) who takes a trip to Paris with his fiancee (Rachel McAdams). Gill has a romantic fascination with Paris in the 1920s and on one late night excursion he seemingly travels back in time to his beloved era. Midnight in Paris is one of the best romantic comedies I've seen and it has a great cast with the likes of Marion Cotillard, Lea Seydoux, Kathy Bates, Adrian Brody and Tom Hiddelston.

Breathless (dir. Godard)

Anyone who knows me knows that I love Godard movies, especially those that are set in Paris - Breathless, Band of Outsiders and Vivre Sa Vie. Breathless is about a small time thief on the run who reunites with an American student in order to persuade her to run away with him. I love Breathless because it gives a much more romanticized look at 1960's Paris. The famous scene in which Jean Seaberg sells newspapers along the Champs-Elysses always come to my mind when I think of Paris. Shot along Paris's left bank, the film travels from the chic bars of St.Germain to the streets surrounding the Notre Dame. Band of Outsider's famous Lourve scene in which the three characters set out to beat the record of running through the Lourve in 9 minutes and 45 seconds is a staple of new wave Paris for me. Vivre Sa Vie is another film you should watch to get a feel of new wave Paris. Vivre Sa Vie documents the life of a prostitute called Nana who is played by the wonderful Anna Karina. Although it gives a lot more realistic look at Paris, it still has the mischievous charm of Godard movies and its fair share of chic cafe scenes.

The Dreamers (dir. Bernardo Bertolucci)

Although a large proportion of The Dreamers takes place in a Parisian flat, the film takes you on an extensive tour through French and Parisian culture. Set to the backdrop of the 1968 student riots, it tells the story of an American student (Michael Pitt) who forms a friendship with a brother (Louis Garrell) and sister (Eva Green). The trio are obsessed with film and often meet to discuss French new wave movies and Hollywood classics. I love The Dreamers because it cleverly intertwines film clips and cultural references with a romantic drama. Based on the French classic Les Enfants Terrible, the Bernardo Bertulocci film is a master class in French culture.

Last Tango in Paris (dir. Bernardo Bertolucci)

Another Bernardo Bertolucci film, Last Tango in Paris, tests the boundaries of the relationship between a widowed French hotelier played by Marlon Brando and a young French woman played by Maria Schneider. Like the Dreamers, the content of the film may put off some viewers (a certain infamous scene was a tough watch) but I think Last Tango is a real masterpiece. Last time I was in Paris, I stumbled across the building by the Bir Hakeim bridge which features a lot in the movie. Its actually a beautiful place to visit because you can view the Eiffel Tower from a relatively quiet spot without the usual tourist buzz.

Cleo from 5 to 7 (dir. Agnes Varda)

Cleo from 5 to 7 is another French New Wave film shot on location on the streets of Paris. It is about a narcissistic young French pop singer called Cleo who has been brought down to earth by a cancer scare. As she waits for the results of her biopsy, she wanders around Paris visiting many of the left bank shopping streets, river fronts and gardens. The film mixes the elements of a musical with a realist drama in a really charming way. I love the day in the life style of this film and I think it gives a really interesting insight into Paris in the sixties.

I hope these movies make you fall in love with Paris too. Let me know in the comments if there are any movies set in Paris that I need to see! :)

Bristol Event Guide February

I've made another alternative event guide for February. Although Kate Nash, Cabbage, Two Door Cinema Club and The Blondie Tribute at the Fleece are sold out this month, there are still lots of cool things to do ...

The Beatles Eight Days A Week

When: Monday 6th 7:30pm - 10pm

Where: The Louisiana

How Much: Free!

The Louisiana are screening The Beatles documentary Eight Days a Week for free next Monday. It really is a fantastic documentary so I'd catch this opportunity to see it if you can

Event Page

Record Fair and CD Fair 

When: Saturday 4th 10pm - 4pm

Where: Colston Hall

How Much: Free :)

The biggest record and cd fair in the South West takes place tomorrow in Colston Hall. There will be bargains and rarities from every genre you can think of. Its the perfect event for a record collector or music lover.

More Info

There Will be Blood Live with the London Contemporary Orchestra

When: Tuesday 7th

Where: Colston Hall

How Much: £25.50 (student) £45.50

Although this event is a little bit more pricey, its an amazing opportunity to see the oscar-wining film There Will be Blood accompanied by a live orchestra.

Get Tickets

LA Witch

When: Wednesday 15th 8pm - 11pm

Where: The Crofters Rights

How Much: £6 (before) £7 (at the door)

As part of the Bristol Psych Fest, La Witch are playing at The Crofters Right with support from Taos Humm and Umi. La Witch are a psych rock band based in LA. For fans of the Dum Dum Girls, Bleached and Best Coast. Check out there single Get Lost.

Event Page

These Smiths and Transmission (The Smiths and Joy Division Cover Bands)

When: Saturday 18th 7pm -11pm

Where: The Fleece

How Much: £13

The Fleece are hosting two cover bands of Manchester finest The Smiths and Joy Division. Its a perfect chance to hear some of your favourite songs from the eighties indie scene

Event Page

Bristol Vintage Weigh and Pay

When: Sunday 19th 11pm - 5pm

Where: Motion

How Much: £1:50 entry £15 for 1kg

Probably one of the biggest vinatge fair this month. Hosted in Motion Bristol, you can pick up 1kg of vintage goodies for £15! If you pay an extra £1.50 for entry you can gain entry an hour earlier and get a pick of the best.

Event Page

Follow

January Photo Diary: VU Vinyl, Dream Wife and Bass Practice

January as usual was a slow month but some of the highlights included picking up some velvet underground vinyl, going to Dream Wife and learning to play bass

I wore my Hades jumper a good few times this month, its still one of my favourite fashion items :)

I bought a few dvds this month, the Marlon Brando documentary was really interesting, it included recordings of Brando himself and different pieces of footage. I haven't gotten around to watching the Godard movie yet but I can't wait because I've heard good things about it

I finally bought Loaded by the Velvet Underground. I don't know why I left it so long because I love Sweet Jane, Rock n Roll and New Age

I also bought this Velvet Underground live record in shop in Bristol called Repsycho, its mostly a vintage shop but in the basement they sell records too. I think the vinyl sleeve is amazing and its a double Lp so theres lots of live recording from 1969 in New York and Texas

using up my Christmas lush goodies - this one is the Christmas Pudding bathbomb

I went to see Dream Wife again this month. They played the Crofters Rights and it was completely sold out. I wore this silver cropped jumper from Urban Outfitters featuring a Dream Wife sticker

Dream Wife <3

as part of my New Year's resolution, I'm learning how to play the bass. I using the game Rocksmith to teach me some songs but I really should buy a book to learn some of the basic technical stuff (or maybe I'll try and find a good youtube tutorial)

I went a jam session in a warehouse in Bristol on the 28th. Its organised by an art collective called Jam Jar and its on the last Saturday of every month

I was also went to see Trainspotting 2 this month and I really liked it. I'm such a big fan of the first one and the second one really suprised me because it wasnt really about heroin this time but its based more on the characters, as always its really funny and Danny Boyle has some really creative shots in it

Thanks for reading :)

Follow

The Influence of David Bowie on Fashion and Film

Today we lost one of the most influential people to have ever existed. David Bowie shaped the image of the rock n roll star and inspired some of the most amazing music to date. His influence also extends to fashion and film by inspiring collections by Jean Gaultier and appearing on soundtracks for some of the most memorable moments in film. I've written this post to celebrate the continuing influence of David Bowie and to pay tribute to his extraordinary ability to create and inspire. 

Fashion

Jean Paul Gaultier

Jean Paul Gaultier's Spring/Summer 2013 ready to wear show was inspired by the fashion icons of the 1980s such as David Bowie, Madonna, Boy George and Grace Jones. The above pictures show the influence of David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust persona which was epitomized by choppy orange/red hair, knitted leotards, jumpsuit, lashings of eyeshadow and the occasional eyepatch. The image of Ziggy Stardust helped to inspire the creation of the glam rock look.

Miu Miu

Miu Miu's Fall collection in 2012 is heavily influenced by the iconic image of David Bowie in the video for Life on Mars (the 1971 single which was featured on the album Hunky Dory). The androgynous look consisted of over-sized pantsuits, silk ties and light blue eyeshadow. 

Givenchy

Givenchy's Spring 2010 ready to wear show presented a black and white geometrically stripped blazer that is almost identical to the one worn by David Bowie in the seventies during his Aladdin Zane phase. 

Dries Van Noten

Dries Van Noten acknowledges the influence of the image of David Bowie as The Thin White Duke for the Fall 2011 collection. The collection featured redish blonde slicked back hair, oversized blazers and pleated trousers. The show was also accompanied by a deconstructed version of David Bowie's song Golden Years. The tribute to David Bowie continued in the Fall 2011 womenswear collection. During the show images of David Bowie as Ziggy Stardust was projected behind the runway and a remixed version of Hereos accompanied the presentation.

The Kate Moss Vogue Covers

David Bowie inspired two vogue covers which featured Kate Moss impersonating the singer. The Vogue UK cover for the May 2003 issue shows Kate adorned with the famous lighting bolt which David Bowie wore for the iconic album cover for Aladdin Sane. Kate Moss appeared as David Bowie again in 2011 for the Vogue Paris December issue, this time dressed as Ziggy Stardust. Last year Kate Moss accepted a Brit award for David Bowie while wearing the famous Ziggy Stardust playsuit. The Kate Moss as David Bowie impersonation continues...

Film 

The Runaways

The 2010 biopic of the band The Runaways features a scene in which Cherie Currie, played by Dakota Fanning, dresses up as Ziggy Stardust and mimes to the song Lady Grinning Soul. I really love this scene because it epitomizes teenage rebellion and shows the influence of Bowie in popular culture.

Inglorious Basterds

One of my favourite scenes from the 2009 film by Quentin Tarantino is the scene in which Shosanna applies "warpaint" to the David Bowie's song Cat People. I think this song is the perfect accompaniment to Shosanna's transformation into a fearless nazi killer. 

Frances Ha

The 2013 film directed by Noel Baumbach is about a dancer called Frances, played by Greta Gerwig who struggles to get her life together after her best friend Sophie moves out of her apartment and she is forced to move. The scene in which Frances runs and dances through the streets of New York to Modern Love by David Bowie is my favourite scene in the movie. You can watch it here. 

I hope you liked this post, I haven't written one like this before but I really enjoyed it. Let me know in the comments below if you can think of any more tributes to David Bowie in popular culture

Follow

September Favourites

sources: thebrianjonestownmassacre, google, google hannahlouisefashion

I've decided to try something new since I don't have time to update as regularly these days. I've  created a list of all the things I've been enjoying in September. I hope to make this a regular thing so I'll keep this blog semi updated :)

Music

 I've been loving an album by Tess Parks and Anton Newcombe called I Declare Nothing. It was released earlier this year and my favourite song is Cocaine Cat. If you like The Brian Jonestown Massacre then you should give this a shot. Tess Parks has a great voice and I've been loving her solo album Blood Hot too. My favourite song from it is Somedays. I've also been listening to Cherry Glazerr, The Raveonettes, Alvvays and Wolf Alice.

Film

My favourite film this month is Legend. It tells the story of Reggie and Ronnie Kray, both played by Tom Hardy, who became two of the most notorious criminals of the sixties. The story is narrated by Reggie's wife, played by Emily Browning. I loved the witty dialogue and Tom Hardy's performance is great. I also couldn't help but love all of Emily Browning's dresses. I just want to live in the sixties, okay? I've been watching a lot of crime films for college and I think I'm really starting to develop a liking for this genre. 

Tv

I love This Is England 90. I've always liked the This Is England series and I was so excited (and a little saddened) to see the release of the final series. It's the first time I've watched the series as it is released on television so it makes it even more exciting to wait for each weeks episode. The final episode is feature length and its on as we speak... eek. You can watch it here.

Fashion

I've been following London fashion week on social media this month and I loved the "girly aesthetic" that many of the designers celebrated - the over sized tulle dresses at Molly Goddard, the confetti hair and skateboards at Ashish, the mermaids at Sophia Webster. Just Girly Things. I've also been taking advantage of the 20% student discount in high street stores like Topshop, River Island, H&M and New Look. It's the last year that I'll have access to student discounts so I had to take advantage (that's my excuse). If you're a student you can access lots more discounts on high street and online stores with unidays. 

Youtube

I've been watching a lot of videos of youtube recently because I don't have a tv in my house anymore and youtube is filling that empty space in my life. I've been loving monthly favourites (hence the idea for this post), fashion and beauty hauls and weekly vlogs. My favourite channels are Amy Valentine, Helen Anderson, Zoella and Leanne Woodfull. Mostly bloggers as you can see. I've also been liking The Future of Fashion documentary with Alexa Chung on Vogue's channel.  

Annie Atkins: Graphic Designer of The Grand Budapest Hotel

Yesterday I went to a screening of The Grand Budapest Hotel. It was actually my first time seeing it (yes I have been living under a rock for the past year). My university was screening the movie as part of their annual film festival so I had another chance to see it in the cinema... yay! After the screening, the graphic designer Annie Atkins gave a presentation on her experience working with Wes Anderson on the set of The Grand Budapest Hotel.

The Grand Budapest is one of the most stylish films I have seen this year. I love the miniature model of the hotel, the unique styling of each character and the impeccably beautiful set design. I can see why The Grand Budapest won Oscars for production design, costume design and makeup. Annie Atkins worked in the art department as a graphic designer. She was responsible for the set design and the production of props - everything from the pink Mendl boxes to the interior of The Grand Budapest. In her presentation she described the process of approaching graphic design in film. The first week of production involves the breaking down of the script and the highlighting of important design elements. The graphic designer must then immerse themselves in the style of the period or in the case of The Grand Budapest, the world of Wes Anderson - a task that was made considerably easier by the fact that the art department was located on set in the abandoned department store that functioned as The Grand Budapest Hotel.

During production Annie Atkins moved between the digital design of the set and the practical making of props. In order to produce authentic looking props, Annie attended flea markets and vintage stores to become familiar with the style of old telegrams, bank notes and antiques like vintage keys and perfume bottles. In order to make objects like the Last Will and Testament of Madame D. look old, she would use techniques like distressing and soaking paper in tea. As The Grand Budapest involves a fictional world, Annie had a lot of freedom to experiment with the typography and graphic design of props like the pink Mendl boxes. Annie described Wes Anderson's interest in all aspects of stage production. He even became involved in the production of the newspapers by writing each article on the front page himself.

Annie Atkins is currently working on a new movie directed by Stephen Spielberg and written by the Coen Brothers called Bridge of Spies. Annie has previously designed for TV shows like The Tudors, Penny Dreadful and animated films like The Boxtrolls.

Cult of Love

It's my last week at home before I leave for college so I'm just hanging out in my room listening to music and watching movies. 

 Literally all of my outfit is from Topshop. I bought the paisley mini skirt from my cousin because I loved it so much. Topshop are selling some really cute mini skirts atm. I bought the sandals in the Topshop sale, they were supposed to go with a coral dress I wore to a wedding but they turned out to be more peach than pink, I couldn't bring myself to return them hehe

Too True by The Dum Dum Girls - I was listening to this record all day, hence the title Cult of Love

I watched Ciao! Manhattan last night. The movie is about the life of Edie Sedgwick and the late stages of the sixties revolution. Towards the end of the movie it starts to focus on mind control and aliens and to be honest I couldn't follow the plot at all haha. On the the back of the dvd there is a quote from The Village Voice which describes the film as "The Citizen Kane of the drug generation" so maybe that's why there was a wealthy business man influencing the other characters, maybe?? Although I did really enjoy the footage of the factory and Edie's Sedgwick's audio interviews (most of that footage is on youtube if you're interested). Edie died three months after the making of the film so it was interesting to see what she was like in the weeks leading up to her death. 

There is an article in the booklet by one of the directors David Weisman. He talks about the misfortunes of the Edie Sedgwick and Paul America and how they influenced the film's production. The film took almost five years to produce because the leading stars where unable to continue filming. Edie had suffered severe burns from a fire she accidentally started in her room at the Chelsea Hotel and Paul America was in jail for a narcotics charge. It is shocking how much of the film is based on real life events. One of the final scenes is filmed in Paul America's actual prison cell. The directors John Palmer and David Weisman struggled to make sense of the unfinished film so they decided to piece together the 35mm black and white footage of Edie Sedgwick in Manhattan with the footage of Edie Sedgwick in California creating a parallel between her glory days and her tragic downfall.  

Photo Diary: Smithereens

since I haven't posted in awhile I decided to show you a few pictures I took on my phone last month. This picture is from a shopping trip I had a few days before I left Dublin. The top and skirt are both from River Island. I bought the top to wear out that night. Im tempted to buy the skirt now because its been reduced. I also tried on this off the shoulder bodycon dress but I thought the material was really heavy for summer so I didnt buy it

amazing shoes (^‿^) The middle one is a mixture between white sandals and jellies. I've wanted a pair of white sandals for ages. There are pretty cool white platforms and sandals at asos.

River Island fluffy bags <3

american apparel shiny co-ords, no matter how I feel about their advertising they do make nice clothes

my topshop hawaiian shirt

urban outfitters yellow raincoat

I went to see the 20th anniversary screening of pulp fiction, it was pretty cool to see it in the cinema seeing as I was still a baby when it was first released

I went to see Palma Violets a few weeks ago. I had a good night out but tbh I was a little disappointed with the Palma Violets, they weren't as good as I expected them to be

I went to see Panic at the Disco with a few of my old friends from school, they were my favourite band when I was like 14 so its pretty crazy that I seen them live. They were good despite the fact that there is only one original band member remaining. They played a lot of songs from their first album and their most recent album. They only played one song from the 2008 album Pretty Odd, I don't know whether that is because of legal reasons or personal choice. We arrived at the gig super late so we had really crappy view of the stage but one of the guys who was with us managed to sneak into the private boxes so me and another guy decided to join him. The view was amazing... 

we got kicked out like 5 minutes later when a photographer in the next box complained about us :( its the most lame concert story ever hehe

I also went to see Neutral Milk Hotel. I thought they were good but I prefer them on record. They didnt allow any photography at all so I have no pictures to show you

some dvds I bought recently...

Cleo from 5 to 7 is very new wave. Its directed Agnes Varda and has a cameo with Jean Luc Godard and Anna Karina. It is about a sixties pop singer who wanders around Paris as she awaits her biopsy results. It is shot in real time and the cinematography is beautiful. The beginning reminds me very much of Vivre Sa Vie

Smithereens is 1982 a movie directed by Susan Seidelman. It is about a runaway who desperately wants to become involved in the New York punk scene (I can relate haha). She gets involved with another runaway and a band member who just so happens to be played by Richard Hell, she ultimately has to decide between the two guys. It reminded me a lot of Breaking Glass, however breaking glass has a better soundtrack and more substance. I still really liked this film

I bought this film because it had the coolest cover ever hehe It is about a deaf runaway who moves to San Francisco to look for her brother who is known as "the seeker". She becomes involved with the guitarist of a psychedelic band who is played by Jack Nicholson. I think there is a recurring theme of runaways and band members in the films I watch :L This film is basically like watching hippies get high which is fun for what it is.

Im using a really good movie site now called letterboxd. It allows you to create and share watchlists, write reviews and rate films. Im pretty much going to chill out and watch films this summer, try and post more outfits and maybe just maybe learn how to drive