From Lady Chatterley to Bird People: Dreaming of French films

Anyone Dreaming of France? I know mes amis who play along with the Monday meme wish they were there; instead when they'e stuck inside of Mobile or Cleveland or Sydney, they share vacation photos of Paris, stories from trips to Provence, travel tips and books about the country they love. Actually that's not quite true, some of those taking part are there, living in France, or are lucky enough to travel there so much, they might as well be. People like Sally who spends every summer in France; by visiting via Dreaming of France a few months ago I discovered some really wonderful behind the scenes photos from the filming of The Hundred Foot Journey. 

I try to check in most Mondays by sharing something related to French films based on books. Not always an easy task but I'm a giver. Today I found a trailer for Bird People, a French language film screening at the Toronto International Film Festival. The movie starring Josh Charles (The Good Wife) and Anais Demoustier made a huge impact at Cannes last May.

The trailer, below, is really intriguing; it's not everyday you see a bird riding an escalator.
Bird People, however, is NOT based on a book. It's an original film written by Guillaume Breaud and Pascale Ferran, who also directed.

In an airport hotel on the outskirts of Paris, a Silicon Valley engineer abruptly chucks his job, breaks things off with his wife, and holes up in his room. Soon, fate draws him and a young French maid together.

It doesn't sound like the characters or the audience gets to see much of Paris. Quel domage! Still, the trailer looks intriguing. 

So where's my book to movie connection? 

Director Pascale Ferran also received a huge amount of attention and acclaim for her rendition of Lady Chatterley's Lover -called simply Lady Chatterley- back in 2006. Yes, that book. Merci, Monsieur D.H. Lawrence for the erotic inspiration. I've shared the trailer to Lady Chatterley below; it looks like there's some lovely French scenery if you can take your eyes off the 'action'. I wonder how the seduction and the sex compares to the upcoming film based on Fifty Shades of Grey? Sorry, the two books really shouldn't even be mentioned in the same sentence; one is a revered classic, the other is poorly written trash. And, no, I'm not following the movie. Sorry? I guess I'd get a lot more hits if I did.

That's my contribution to this week's Dreaming of France, hosted by Paulita at An Accidental Blog. Scroll down to see the trailers and visit Paulita's An Accidental Blog for more.