Most American viewers were first introduced to Audrey Tautou in The Da Vinci Code. While an entertaining movie, it doesn’t serve to celebrate Audrey’s considerable acting talents in a way that might encourage a viewer to explore her other work. This is unfortunate because some of her best films are French and the average American’s aversion to reading subtitles dictates that she will likely remain under appreciated in our culture. You may be interested to know that Tautou has been selected to star in a bio-pic about the early life of French designer Coco Chanel. I can’t think of anyone more suitable for the task and am eagerly awaiting the completion of this project! Production is scheduled to begin early this year.
I first ran across Audrey Tautou in the French comedy Amelie. She struck me as being quite similar to Audrey Hepburn and her angelic face, Mona Lisa smile and soft manner work quickly to establish an impression. Delighted by Amelie I have sought out some of her other films in the hope that her range might truly be as impressive as I’d imagined. I have not been disappointed! Since joining SwapaDVD I have placed a number of her films on my wish list in the hope of building this portion of my collection more quickly.
Films I’ve seen, and you should too (in my order of preference):
- Amelie (13 people wishing)
- A Very Long Engagement (2 people wishing)
- Dirty Pretty Things (1 copy available!)
- The Da Vinci Code (26 copies available)
Films on my Wish List at SwapaDVD:
- Priceless
- Baby Blues
- God is Great, And I’m Not
- He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not
- Pretty Devils
- Happenstance
Of course, to view any of these films (with the exception of The Da Vinci Code) one will be required to either speak fluid French or resign themselves to reading the subtitles. I find it sad that so many Americans refuse to commit themselves to foreign films, and quite frankly, I believe it’s born of sheer laziness. Once one is engrossed in an excellent foreign film you forget entirely that you’re even “reading” the dialog. In a culture that supposedly embraces diversity and the concept of the “melting pot” we’ve managed to insulate ourselves from the influences of the rest of the world. Even the indifference and disinterest most of us display towards learning to speak new languages illustrates my point. So, if you’re not intimidated by a little bit of light “reading” give Audrey Tautou another look.
