c'est drôle la vie

Last day of class. Pour plaisir, Prof. Poisson-Quinton showed Jean-Pierre Jeunet's Amélie. It was a really nice way to end the semester, my school year in Paris. This was the movie that turned me to picking up French and pushed me toward a path in filmmaking. I wouldn't be here today without it. I've seen it countless times with and without subtitles, but it was nice to see it again (and I haven't seen it in a while) and in the context of living here for a year.

Amélie's first deed was for Mr. Bretodeau who apparently lives on my street. I had no idea. I knew that they filmed the bar scene up the street because I've been there, but when I saw the familiar shops and the square in front of the church, when I saw Mr. Bretodeau descend Mouffetard right by the Franprix and my butcher...I knew. The phone booth's not there anymore, and neither is Octave. Here's the whole scene and you can get a taste of what my neighborhood is like if my descriptions and photos aren't enough.
It was really nice surprise to see this. It made me so unbearably happy. God, I've felt so lucky every time I get to walk home and walk down this street and do my shopping on Sunday mornings, and it always felt cinematic to me. Then again, a lot of things are cinematic to me because that's how I view life. Anyway, God, for some reason, meant for me to have cinema and French in my life in one way or another. I mean, one day in SF, I had a French class, then Jean-Pierre Jeunet came to show his 35mm print of City of Lost Children at our theatre, and I also got to meet him and get his autograph. French and Cinema just go together for me like crêpes and nutella. I don't know why exactly, but this combo had to happen because it might mean something for me in the future and it definitely meant something to me in my past lives. God, does that make any sense? It's a little late, that's why I sound so crazy. I just feel like I get signs all the time.

Went to the Louvre since it's free Friday nights for 18 to 26 year olds, and it's probably the last time I'll go there if I don't go with my parents if they even want to go. Kind of makes me sad, but then again, the Louvre is huge and two hours of artifacts is more than enough.