We were en route to Central Park to have ourselves a picnic. After a surprise street fair on Madison Avenue which provided the picnic provisions, we continued on for iced coffees, and that's when we spotted it. Antonio Gaudi. Playing at the Paris, right next door to Bergdorf Goodman. A movie about inscrutible Catalonian architect, Antonio Gaudi? Playing at a theater that I thought was reserved strictly for stage plays. This out to be good. We sat in the balcony. In very plush light purple velvet seats. A bit about the Paris from a 2008 New York Times article.
The 586-seat theater is one of the oldest art houses in the United States. Opened by Pathé Cinema in 1948, the Paris started out showing French films (“La Symphonie Pastorale,” which ran for eight months), and it still shows French films, both revivals (“Belle de Jour”) and new ones (“Amélie”). When French films are not available, the theater shows movies that seem French, including the Foreign Films Lite oeuvre of Merchant and Ivory.
If you decide to see this film, which is almost entirely visual, I suggest reading this article first. I was excited to learn more about Gaudi. I have been searching for good books about Gaudi for years. But can't find many that are more than picture books. This movie is similar to that pursuit.
Check out this site for some information (that I would have liked to have been included in the film) about the buildings featured. Scroll down below the photos for the text.
No comments:
Post a Comment