by Luanne Paul King

Julie and Julia

Nora Ephron wrote and directed the screenplay for Julie and Julia. Meryl Streep stars as Julia Child, the famous French-cooking chef with a long-running TV show. Amy Adams plays Julie Powell, a 30-year-old New Yorker, depressed by her job: sitting all day in an office cubicle answering calls from forlorn citizens seeking advice. The editing artfully integrates scenes from two books: My Life in France by Child, and Julie & Julia by Powell. The books’ stories are set in different time periods: Julia Child’s life in Paris that starts in 1949, and Julie Powell’s post-9/11 Manhattan — with scenes that dramatize her need for a meaningful project of her own. Julie decides to cook all of Julia Child’s 524 recipes in the book Mastering the Art of French Cooking in 365 days, even recording her experiences in a blog. Supportive husband Eric Powell (Chris Messina) approves at first, then splits for a while.

Flashback to the ’50s in Paris. We see Julia Child, bored with just being a housewife. Loving food, she decides to learn how to cook French cuisine. Her U.S. diplomat husband, Paul Child (Stanley Tucci), encourages her. We enjoy hilarious scenes of Child’s introduction to French cooking when she applies to the famous Le Cordon Bleu cooking school as their first female student. My throat still hurts from laughing at Streep’s vigorous cutting of “practice” onions as a Cordon Bleu audition. At first she fails. However, because of her tenacity, her high-pitched authoritative voice and erudite comments, she was accepted. Yes, some of Streep’s portrayal is hammy. But Julia’s motto was “Never apologize.” Bon appetit!

2 hours, 3 minutes. Rated PG-13.

Paris, je t’aime

Claudie Ossard and Emmanuel Benbihy produced this eclectic collection of short films. Twenty-one directors each spent two days producing a 5-minute film. The directors were from several countries and each was asked to film in a section of Paris, the city of light and love. The directors included Gurinder Chadha, Joel and Ethan Coen, Olivier Assayas, Gérard Depardieu, Isabel Coixet, Gus Van Sant and Oliver Schmitz. Thirty-four actors were cast including Fanny Ardant, Juliette Binoche, Steve Buscemi, Willem Dafoe, Gérard Depardieu, Ben Gazzara, Li Xin, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Bob Hoskins, Gena Rowlands — who also wrote the short film she was in — and talented young actors.

The films reveal Parisian life: complex businesses, diverse ethnicities, family joys and problems, seniors forming new relationships. We walk everywhere and experience marvelous architecture and art. Neighborhood marketers beckon. We roam with mime performers in heavy traffic to entertain weary subway riders in the underground Metro. We eavesdrop in small repair shops, lounge in ornate gardens and even visit Chinatown with an elegant salesman. As the films roll on, we realize that Paris is  a fascinating place that would be hard to leave.

2 hours. Rated R. French, with English subtitles. Available on DVD.