In my Paris Left Bank neighborhood of the 6th arrondissement, I am able to be at a number of movie theaters within about 5 minutes’ walking. The theaters circle the Metro stop: Odeon.
With July being heated up almost every day, I sought refuge, more than once, in their air-conditioned environment. Fortunately, one of the movies playing was ‘The Children Act’ or ‘My Lady‘, as it is also known. In my ‘view’, Emma Thompson is at her best.
I am still being pleasantly haunted by the song, ‘Down by the Sally (Salley) Gardens’, simply sung in a touching scene, with the music being aptly repeated at various times throughout the movie.
I found several versions, performing this lovely Yeats poem put to song, on youtube.com. Each version I listened turned out to be as delightful as the last.
This one is sung by a man, Peter Hollens: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pr9cUkpEz4E
And, here is one sung by 2 women, Maura O’Connell with Karen Matheson, with men backing them up, instrumentally, in a relaxed setting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=027ZJX5XVjs
But you can’t go wrong listening to the other artists singing this tune as well.
Here is the list of the theaters in my neighborhood: (as you can see they are all on Boulevard Saint Germain):
As you may have figured out, I don’t speak French and I have been coming to France for decades. But that is another story. When I first started coming, there were times when I yearned to hear English spoken and the movies helped to salve my craving with their 2 hour option.
Amongst one of the changes over the years is current movies now arrive in the theaters even speedier than they used to ‘back in the day’. Yet another change is English is readily spoken all over central Paris so my need for ferreting out an English speaking movie, from that aspect, is not so urgent these days. But because I get such pleasure from visual storytelling, I still join the flock to see the latest.
THINGS TO NOTE when deciding on going to the movies in Paris:
(1) You do need to pay attention as to whether the movie is in English. I, generally, find that if I know a movie is an American or British movie, for instance, the abbreviation ‘VO’ (version original) just helps to confirm it will be in English.
(2) Sometimes the titles will throw me, as they may even be in French or with this movie, The Children Act, was titled, My Lady…or, was it the other way around? I don’t even remember now. But, because of the actors in the movie, I was able to sort out which movie it was and found it online.
(3) Now, if a movie is in English but, sometimes interjects another foreign language, then, ordinarily they would show English subtitles in the USA. But, of course, you are in France, so the subtitles of the foreign language will be in French!
(4) Also, ‘VO’ can also mean that if it is a foreign movie, not an English language movie in other words, it will be in the language of the country it was produced, with subtitles in French.
(5) This website, Spark and Shine, spells out the codes that will assist you:
There are several abbreviations used in the cinema listings in France, such as VO, VF, VOST. What do they stand for?
VO: Version Originale, which means the film isn’t dubbed, i.e. original version.
VF: Version Française, which means the film is dubbed from its original language into French.
VOST: Version Originale Sous-Titrée, which means the film is in its original version (i.e. not dubbed) with French subtitles.
VOSTFR: Version Originale Sous-Titrée en FRançais, which means the film is in its original version (i.e. not dubbed) with French subtitles.
VOSTFrench: Version Originale Sous-Titrée in French, which means the film is in its original version (i.e. not dubbed) with French subtitles.
VOSTA: Version Originale Sous-Titrée en Anglais, which means the film is ins original version (i.e. not dubbed) with English subtitles.
(6) Yes, a number of the movie theaters now have snacks and drinks, including popcorn. At this Odeon theater hub, there has been a candy station, outdoors, for years. And, recently, it’s gotten a more sophisticated makeover:
(7) To get to these 6th arrondissement theaters: As mentioned above, the nearest metro stop to these theaters is Odeon. There are also bus stops nearby as well: https://moovitapp.com/index/en/public_transit-Odéon-Paris-stop_22819534-662 AND/OR also use ‘google maps transit‘ app on your cell/mobile phone which makes it easy for someone who doesn’t live within walking distance.
(8) Also, of course, there may be theaters in the neighborhood you are staying in too, so check them out first by using this website for all Paris English language movie theaters, (although they seem to take a break in their posting in August): https://www.angloinfo.com/paris/events/movies
A Pocketful of Paris 