Southern Times

The Failing French Education System

Rob — 2008-03-25T10:06:38Z

The French view of their education system as one of the best in the world is hardly reflected by their leading establishments' low rankings in the world.

In the top 100 world universities or further education establishments, France manages just two entries at 26th and 28th, the ENS and the Ecole Polytechnique.

The ENS and the Ecole Polytechnique have a combined annual intake of 694 students. They are 'Grand Ecoles' with all the snoberry and elitism that one associates with the finishing schools of the last century.

The top ten being divided at 6 to the US and 4 to the UK.

Looking at individual disciplines, they fare a touch better

In technology one of their grand ecoles manages 34th just after the Indian Bombay Institute of technology and is the only French representative in the top 50.

In Arts and Humanities, the Sorbonne and the ENS are their only 2 representatives in the top 50.with the Sorbonne leading the way at 28th.

In Life Sciences & Biomedicine, the University Louis Pasteur of Strasbourg is the only French representative, scraping in at 48th.

In Natural Sciences France manages three entries in the top 50 with the ENS leading the way at 20th.

In Social Sciences France draws a blank, with no establishments in the world top 50.

If we become more local and look at just the European top 50 establishments, France fares a little better;

The ENS comes in at 7th just behind Cambridge, Oxford, Imperial College London, Edingburgh and King's College London.

The Ecole Polytechnique comes in at 8th, just in front of Manchester, Bristol and Zurich.

But that is it. 2/50 for France, one behind little Belgium, compared to 8 out of the top 10 or 23/50 for the UK, Germany has 4/50, Netherlands 6/50.

So when looking at further education choices, what should one do for the best?

The ENS ( Ecole Normale Supérieure, PARIS) is France's flagship at 26th in the world rankings and 7th in Europe. This is a 'Grand Ecole', basically teaching would be teachers and professors.

To get your child there, he or she must first pass the BAC and obtain, at least, a mention. then get a place at a 'Preppa' (Ecole Preparatoire) that prepares for the ENS.

There is usually a cull of about 30% of the students at the end of their first year at Preppa and of the remaining students who take the 'competition' for a place at ENS, only 6%, that is a grand global total of 194 pupils each year, win a place at the ENS.

According to statistics, any other further education in France is second rate and mediocre. In a world where the European countries have and are developing equivalencies of qualifications, degrees etc foreign travel would not only broaden your child's mind but also equip him with better qualifications for the future.

So, why is the French education system so bad?

At the top, it is an anachronistic elitist system 194 students admitted by ENS each year, 500 by l'Ecole Polytechnique.

The principle of a place at a university (as opposed to the Grand Ecoles) for all who pass the BAC leads to an absurd situation with a unwieldy masss of first year input - a lot of the first year students at Montpellier have to sit outside their lecture rooms and try to listen to lectures from steps stairs and corridors, unless they get there very early to bag the seats that are inside.

This high input means that the first year is a culling operation and of little or no educational benefit.

From a low level, children are encouraged to learn by rote, the correct answers are what the teacher has said or more often, has handed out on photocopied sheets, and not that which is correct - our children have learnt this lesson, and much to our horror, will often deliberately repeat, in homework and texts, incorrect English to get marks from teachers who have a small inaccurate but fixed grasp of the language.

Original thought is discouraged at all levels, which probably explains why Cambridge, UK can boast more Nobel prizes than the whole of France.

I am amazed by the way French literature is taught. The pupils do not read and are not asked to read the books, but are encouraged to learn by rote the critiques gathered by their teachers about those books. This runs from the lowest level to the very top.

Recently on French television a famous French professor of literature, from one of the Grand Ecoles, stated that he had given courses of lectures on James Joyce and 'Ulysses' but had never read 'Ulysses' - basing his courses on crib sheets and the perceptions of others. Worse, this was not a shame faced admission, he saw nothing wrong with this form of teaching.

I will be writing more on the different stages of French schooling as seen through the experience of our children.

Languedoc Real Estate and Property Agents

A correspondent — 2008-03-01T12:57:32Z

Im starting with Languedoc real estate agents in Pezenas and will add towns as i go....

Pezenas Real Estate Agents

A P I Agence Pezenas Immobilier - 3 Avenue Aristide Briand 04 67 90 72 08 Good English spoken

Aami - 29 Cours Jean Jaures 04 67 98 00 02

Abeilhan immobilier 8 av Mar Leclerc 08 77 80 42 63

Action Immobiliere Groupe - 18 Cours Jean Jaures 04 67 09 44 05

Agence Cabinet Occitan - 4 Pl De La Republique 04 67 98 84 79

Agence Guy Olivier - 57 Cours Jean Jaures 04 67 98 37 77 Good English spoken

Agence Moliere - 15 Rue Jean Jacques Rousseau

Aht Immobilier - 3 Place Du 14 Juillet

Alliance Immobilier - 15 Rue Chevaliers St Jean

Amande Immo 18 r Conti 04 67 31 56 55

Azur Immo - 8 Avenue Du Marechal Leclerc

Carrefour Immobilier 4 pl Etats du Languedoc 04 67 09 41 92

Centragence - 3 Place Du 14 Juillet 04 67 98 12 67

Century 21 Confiance Immo rte Agde rd-pt de la Paix 04 67 00 21 21

Fabre Immobilier - 10 Place de la Republique 04 67 98 38 10

Guienne Immobilier - 10 R Anatole France Agence 04 67 98 05 26

Honig Agence Immobilière 3 r Four de la Ville 04 67 09 48 44

Guy Hoquet L'Immobilier 21 cours Jean Jaurès 04 67 09 30 14

Immolympic - 23 R Conti

Lcf Immo - 13, avenue Aristide Briand 04 67 90 31 43

Les Volets Bleus - 4 R Chevaliers St Jean

Objectif Immo 8 av Maréchal Leclerc 04 67 76 60 03

Prf - 18 Cours Jean Jaures

Profima - 8 Pl Frederic Mistral

Proimmobilier - 30 Avenue Aristide Briand

Promo Octon - 3 Place Du 14 Juillet

Sa Cabinet Occitan - 4,6, place Ledru Rollin

Sci Castelsec - 3 Chemin du Petit Larzac

Sm Carrefour Immobilier - 4 Pl Des Etats Du Languedoc

Soave Immobilier 2 pl République 04 67 00 80 96

Sudhouse - 29 rue Conti 04 67 09 07 47 Good English spoken

Transagri 8 pl Frédéric Mistral 04 67 98 36 36

Languedoc Languor and Midi Time

Rob — 2008-03-01T09:47:45Z

Time in the western world is a rectilinear diamond cut obstinately right angled object. Tomorrow lies 24 hours in the future, in one hour is exactly 60 minutes away.

Calendars, agendas, watches all mark the corners and junction points of human interactivity.

In the eastern world it is a more indefinite force, that can be stopped for meditation, started for action - a different way of looking at life and living.

Looking at the mores of the Midi, the region of southern France stretching from the mountains down to the coast - languedoc and its neighbours, it is quite likely that some of the Eastern mystics came here on vacation and took home as a souvenir a piece of languedoc time.

In the Midi, time is not rectilinear, time has no sharp corners, it is a rounded curving smokey substance, that can not be grasped by the hand or often by an outsider's mind.

The first experience a lot of us have with this is when a builder tells you he is coming "demain" which translates literally as tomorrow, naivete and foreigness persuades us that this means in 24 hours time. It does not, "demaing" means certainly not today, perhaps this week, possibly this month and possibly never. When and if the buider turns up, he will be astonished if you point out that you had been expecting him weeks ago.

Our first Languedoc house was in the small village of Valros in the Languedoc wine producing plains. it had a decent sized courtyard, but we decided to add a roof terrace. For this we needed an RSJ, a steel beam. Because the house was large and wide, the RSJ had also to be large and wide.

I went to a steel yard in Beziers and sat in an office with the owner, discussed dimensions and ordered the RSJ. A delivery date was fixed, which gave me time to lay the concrete pads on which the beam was going to sit. It also gave me time to arrange more hands for the day of delivery.

The delivery date came and we were all there waiting. Floors had been opened up and parts of walls knocked down so that the beam could be manhandled into place. The delivery date came and went, the beam never arrived. On ringing the steelyard, I was told that the beam would be delivered the following week on a Thursday, it wasn't.

As we were rebuilding and renovating through out, I gave up chasing and continued with other jobs. Suddenly with no warning, three weeks after the agreed delivery date, a large truck and my beam arrived. The steelyard owner was with it and he was very surprised I had not guessed which day he was actually going to deliver.

A walk up to the local cafe resulted in us finding enough hands to shift it. The beam, incidentally, was 6" deeper/taller than that which had been specified - the steelyard owner said he had done this because it would be stronger - the results of this difference in dimensions, the heights of the pads we had prepared etc., is another story.

As life in the Languedoc passed on, we have become accustomed to this and can accept appiointments, dates and hours as being wispy insubstantial things with resignation and content. It isd a large part of the pleasure of living in the Languedoc region of southern France.

It is not just us expats, the French from the more northern regions also marvel at Midi time.

Market Days in the Languedoc

A correspondent — 2008-03-01T07:18:36Z

The markets in the towns and villages of Languedoc are one of the great pleasures of our region. From bric a brac and old car wheels through to fresh fish and heavenly cheeses. - Languedoc Market Days

Fractional Ownership in the Languedoc

Rob — 2008-02-27T13:43:54Z

Imagine having a holiday home in the Languedoc which is always ready to welcome you. new sheets on beds, no maintenance, no diy, just relax time all at a fraction of the normal languedoc real estate prices.

we've seen them in the States, all around the Caribbean and on offer in Spain from the ex timeshare barons.

Now at last there are two fractional ownership developments coming to fruition in the Languedoc.

i believe fractional ownership is the future of the second home market in france and I am glad to see two different developments emerging. One fractional development is topend, with a gourmet restaurant, pool and golf course all in the Herault countryside.

The other is a seaview coastal fractional development offering one bed apartments and studios all with sea view terraces down along the coast towards Spain one hop after Colioure the fauvist's fave (hmm, had to get that in! ) destination. Here the sea is part of france's natural heritage classified and protected as such. this is Cerbere which is a divers paradise so all those born with a snorkel on their mouths should watch French Property Fractional, the new French fractional property ownership site for more details as they emerge.

A Fine and Private Place

The Frogman — 2008-02-17T10:46:10Z

February in the Herault is a mixed season with cold jacket and jumper days interspersed with bright sun teeshirt and shorts surprises - almost an English spring.

The cicadas have not begun to chant, the swallows are neither arriving nor leaving in their swooping swishing clouds. Work in the vines is restricted to pruning. The world is quiet.

Smoke from wood burning fires still curls up from the village rooves, a time for walks, a time for talks and meetings in quiet spaces.

We have elections coming up for the mayors and councils of our villages, first round on the 9th of March, political feathers are being straightened and made brilliant ready for the louder brighter courting displays of early March.

EEC (common market) citizens who are residents in France can vote in these elections. Over the last 20 years In the Herault there has been a very large influx of British citizens. Most of these buying houses in the small villages.

Hence, in the villages of less than 1000 heads, the English vote is beginning to be recognised as valuable.

Last night, all the English residents of our village were invited to a meeting arranged by an ex and would be mayor to 'meet one another' and discuss the evolution of the village.

Like all small communities, issues are local, which side of the village - North or South - a new development should be built, speed of cars coming through the village, dogs and dogshit in the village streets.Nobody is banning imports from Montpellier or declaring war on Perpignan.

This is, however, a Mediterranean region, where bulls still run through the streets and emotions , old loyalties, feuds run faster and higher and deeper than the bulls.

Thus it was in the half light of the early evening we headed round towards our salle de fetes to be met and guided by one of the would be councillors into a dimly lit garage far away from the prying eyes of mortals.We were told that the meeting was being held there because if it took place in the light of a public place it would be disrupted and the would be councillors would be howled down by 'wolves'.

After all issues had been discussed, all issues being why the new development should not be built where the present mayor plans to buid it and that it should be moved from the North side of the village to the south side, pertinent questions were asked.

Who are the would be councillors on the Mayor's electoral council list? This was tricky, the would be mayor explained it had to remain secret, because otherwise his supporters and would be councillors would be reviled in the streets, probably have their gabardines spat upon and certainly be prey to the "wolves".

It was then proposed that if we had any friends that might or should be interested and knew of a fine and private place like a well hidden garage, meetings could be held to further the cause - viral garage marketing strategy.

February is a curious month.

Final Films for 2nd PECC season announced

Sarah Ridout — 2007-07-03T15:45:20Z

‘The Last King of Scotland', The Good German, A Prairie Home Companion (‘The Last show' in France) (PECC Bonus), The Painted Veil (Le Voile des Illusions)and Dreamgirls (PECC Bonus) are the final movies for PECC's 2nd season.

PECC Pezenas English Language Cinema Club presents: PECC Programme Avril - Juin 2007

Avril Ven 13 / Dim 15 (*NB 2nd week-end en Avril) Last King of Scotland Real - Kevin Macdonald, avec Forest Whitaker Best Actor Oscars, Golden Globes, BAFTA's

Mai Ven 4 / Dim 6 The Good German Real - Stephen Soderbergh avec George Clooney, Cate Blanchett + Tobey Maguire

Ven 18 A Prairie Home Companion (‘The Last show' in France) Real - Robert Altman avec Meryl Streep, Woody Harrelson, Garrison Keillor, Lily Tomlin, Tommy Lee Jones, Kevin Kline, Virginia Madsen, John C. Reilly, +Lindsay Lohan (PECC Bonus)

Juin Ven 8 / Dim 10 (*NB 2nd weekend in Juin*) The Painted Veil (Le Voile des Illusions)Real - John Curran, avec Naomi Watts + Edward Norton

Ven 22 DreamgirlsReal - Bill Condon avec Jennifer Hudson (Best supporting actress Oscars, Golden Globes + BAFTA's), Beyonce, Eddie Murphy, Jamie Foxx. Cult 80's Motown musical (PECC Bonus)

See you at the movies!

Sarah

PECC

‘LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE' Bonus PECC

Sarah Ridout — 2007-03-17T12:39:05Z

20H45 Cinema Moliere at Pezenas

Hi everyone its Pecc Bonus Time again!

‘LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE' (VO/ST)is the winner of the Best supporting Actor + BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY Oscars 2007 and screens on Friday 16 Mars @20H45 for one Session Only!

Come and see for yourself if the movie equals the publicity hype and if the performance is better than the outstanding nominated performances in ‘the Departed' and 'Dreamgirls'.

Best

Sarah

PECC

'Bobby' screens for PECC this weekend

Sarah Ridout — 2007-03-05T12:16:38Z

'Bobby' PECC, Cinema Moliere Friday 2 March 20H45 and Sunday 4 March 17H

PECC is on this weekend - Friday and Sunday same times as usual - hope to see you there.

'Bobby' is set in the last day in the life of presidential candidate Senator Robert F. Kennedy filmed in the Hotel he was assassinated in.

Director: Emilio Estevez, Stars / Avec : Freddy Rodríguez, Christian Slater, Demi Moore, Sharon Stone, Anthony Hopkins,Ashton Kutcher, Lindsay Lohan, William H Macy, Laurence Fishburne, Emilio Estevez

It's good to see we screened the most acclaimed films for PECC again this year with ‘The Departed', ‘The Queen' and ‘An Inconvenient Truth' winning most major awards and more to come in the season.

Sarah

3 Great Movies for next 2 months of PECC

Sarah Ridout — 2006-11-02T15:34:49Z

The next 3 PECC movies are: 1. ‘The wind that shakes the barley' November Fri / Ven 3 (20H45) + Sun / Dim 5 (17H). Acclaimed + controversial come + make up your own mind; 2. Perfume / Le Parfum the long-awaited film of the cult novel - is the first PECC bonus for the season - for one night only November Fri / Ven 17 (20H45); 3. The Queen - December Fri / Ven 1 (20H45) + Sun / Dim 3 (17H)

Make sure you come to PECC and see the latest, most acclaimed movies while supporting the community we live in by donating to Secours Populaire!

1. All tickets can be bought direct from the Cinema before the session; 2. There will be a free Season Pass available from the Cinema. 3. PECC is supporting a local charity and we have increased the ticket price to include this. The ticket price will be €4 (€3 is the Cinema's discount group rate for PECC and €1 to Secours Populaire). You can donate more than €1 each session there will be a box there for extra donations - the more the better as this is an important charity that helps those less fortunate (families, children) in the very community we live in. Many of us have moved from other parts of France or other countries to live in this beautiful and generous area and have been welcomed into the community.

This support of the Secours Populaire is a small attempt to reach out to the local community and give something back.

The first PECC for the Season is this Weekend!

Sarah Ridout — 2006-10-05T07:29:10Z

The acclaimed black comedy is directed by Jason Reitman and stars William H. Macy, Aaron Eckhart, Maria Bello, Katie Holmes

Tickets available at the Cinema (€4 each)

There are a few changes to PECC this season: 1. All tickets can be bought direct from the Cinema before the session (thanks again to the wonderfully generous people of ‘CRAIE Internet + Language Courses' for their help last year); 2. There will be a Season Pass which will be available from the Cinema. The Season Pass can be shared by a family, couple or individual - you just need to get another one when all the boxes are stamped; 3. We are supporting a local charity for the season and to increase the ticket price to include this. There will be a donation box each session for the Secours Populaire and the ticket price will be €4 (€3 to the Cinema and €1 into the Secours Populaire box). You can donate more than €1 each session - the more the better as this is an important charity that helps those less fortunate (families, children) in the very community we live in.

Many of us have moved from other parts of France or other countries to live in this beautiful and generous area and have been welcomed into the community. This support of the Secours Populaire is a small attempt to reach out to the local community and give something back. We will provide regular reports on monies raised and hope at least once this year will have a brief report from the charity on their worthwhile achievements and plans.

See you at the movies!

Sarah

At last a tasty Indian

Wendy — 2006-10-05T07:25:40Z

Le Palais des Roses

323 bd Saint Fructueux - 34400 LUNEL Tél 04.67.83.03.24 ou 06.71.95.10.03

How many of you long for a decent curry, we have discovered a rather nice Indian restaurant in Lunel.it is called Le Palais des Roses.

This is the closest we have come to finding an Indian restaurant in France that serves curry's like we used to get in England. Don't get me wrong I adore the French food but do occasionally long for something a little spicy. Ask for the hot sauce to accompany your curry, it is dynamite. You can find contact details and address here at the website www.palaisdesroses34.com

Capote + Aperitifs - June PECC!

Sarah Ridout — 2006-05-24T06:34:04Z

‘Truman Capote' - Philip Seymour Hoffman - Best Actor ‘Golden Globes', ‘BAFTAs' + ‘Oscars'

Well we have arrived at the final PECC of the premiere season!

We think this is a milestone worth celebrating so we have organised Aperitif's before the film at 19H15 on Friday night only at the ‘Centre de Ressources Moliere' (1st floor, 11 Place Gambetta, Pezenas). The Centre is located in the most beautiful Hotel Particular in Pezenas overlooking historic Place Gambetta.

Because of the special location tickets are limited to 50 people only. Tickets for the Aperitifs + movie are €5.50 pre-paid but limited so make sure you buy yours before they sell out!

3 ticket options for Friday 2 June:

1. Movie + aperitif (limited to 50 people), 5.50€ prepaid at CRAIE;

2. Movie only (no aperitif) 3€ prepaid at CRAIE;

3. Movie only (no aperitif) 5.50€ on the night at the Cinema ticket office.

*The Friday night aperitif + movie tickets are only available in advance from CRAIE Rue Barbes Pezenas and must be purchased by Thursday 1 June for catering purposes*

Hope to see you there. The next season of PECC will start in October, enjoy the summer!

Sarah

'Syriana' May PECC

Sarah Ridout — 2006-05-22T13:19:56Z

Directed by Stephen Gagan and starring an ensemble cast including George Clooney and Matt Damon.

Syriana is the 2nd last PECC for the season and it is a political thriller about world oil politics it is engrossing and complicated featuring intersecting plots.

It's from the team that made ‘Traffic' and George Clooney won the best supporting actor Oscar for his role as a disenchanted CIA operative.

The Director Stephen Gagan won an Oscar for his screenplay for Traffic and he spent 4 years writing the script for Syriana.

I hope to see you at PECC at the Cinema Moliere Pezenas.

Sarah Ridout PECC pecc-34@wanadoo.fr

A Dream with a Date

Juliette Lowe — 2006-04-11T16:42:00Z

What is a goal? It's a dream with a date! I like this definition. Dreaming is easy, but the real work is making fantasy reality. I'd wager many of the people reading this article are on a date with their dream - living in France or perhaps planning to come and live here.

The trick is to have a dream and believe in it. The song says, ‘Nothing's impossible if your heart is really in it'. I can't say I totally agree with these words, but the longer I live, dream, and work towards making dreams real, the more I come to believe that almost everything is possible. On the other hand , I find I'm less and less convinced that everything is impossible.


India to France

The older I get the more convinced I become on these issues. At times I work actively at gathering evidence, to show myself that things really aren't as bad as they seem. I make lists of ten or twenty problems or anxieties in a ‘worry book' when I feel afraid, overwhelmed or without faith, and examine them afterwards. A column to the right of each of the worries asks ‘So was it that bad? Did it work out OK?' In almost all cases the worries are groundless, and life goes on.

Scott Peck, quoting Buddha, says in his book ‘The Road Less Travelled' that Life is difficult. In reality we do suffer and we do struggle, but we also survive and, more than that, we should aim to thrive. I remember reading about a ‘bean' experiment where some bean seeds were planted and left in an ‘ideal' situation with appropriate soil, sun and moisture, while other beans were planted in exactly the same physical environment, but twice a day the gardener would come into the greenhouse and ‘slap them around a bit', maybe even shout at them! The crop from the beans that had suffered ‘a difficult life' was far greater than that from the placid little pulses that had nothing to worry about.

Anthony Storr, in his book, ‘Human Aggression', gives this usually negative word a positive slant. He argues that aggression isn't all about war and destruction, but an essential quality for progress and achievement, be it mathematical, scientific, mechanical, artistic, literary, sporty or humanitarian. We use aggressive language to support this view: ‘I'll beat this problem if it kills me... I'll wrestle with this until I understand it...if I get to grips with this I'll have won...' , etc. So, life slaps us about, so let's get up and go, let's get up and grow.

The ideal recipe for ‘right living', for rich living, must surely be good health, good relationships, good work - paid or otherwise - and a deep sense of being fulfilled and ‘on the right path'. It takes both courage and luck to be on this path. Some of us are held in the past, like Lot's wife, in a state of almost-paralysis, looking back at life and what it's been...what it's done to us. It's hard to look forward if we're compelled to look back. Some of us are held in the present by fear, self-doubt, or depression, and so we need someone to help us move forward. We need someone who can share and bear witness to the past and its effects on us, someone who can help us deal with, heal, a here-and-now that's impeding our progress towards fulfilment. And we need someone who can encourage and help us to structure the journey towards our dream.

I don't pretend to have all the answers to life's problems, but I feel privileged to be a certain ‘someone' who has more than twenty years' experience in counselling and psychotherapy, coupled with two years' voluntary experience teaching English in China, followed up by work with Tibetan refugees in Nepal and India.

I also recently trained as a life coach, and have worked in this field with a number of people in the Hérault area.

If you think I could help you, or if you'd like further information, please send me an e-mail at lifecoachcounsellorjuliette@yahoo.co.uk.

PS Unlike the gardener who was tough on his beans, I promise to be gentle.

Memoirs of a Geisha

Sarah Ridout — 2006-04-11T07:18:28Z

One screening only for PECC at the Cinema Moliere on Friday 21 April at 20H45

‘Memoirs of a Geisha' will be the 2nd Bonus PECC of the season. It won three Oscars including ‘Best Cinematography' and is supposed to be visually stunning. Like the recent PECC ‘the Constant Gardener' it is based on a bestselling novel, this time by Arthur Golden.

The same ticketing arrangements apply as normal.

See you at the movies!

Sarah

'Crash' Screens for PECC in April

Sarah Ridout — 2006-04-02T07:35:19Z

'Crash' caused one of the biggest upsets in the history of the Academy Awards by winning ‘Best Picture' - the award thought to be ‘in the bag' for ‘Brokeback Mountain'which was PECC's first Bonus Screening.

'Crash' is directed by writer/director Paul Haggis (who also wrote Clint Eastwood's multi-Oscar-winner Million Dollar Baby). It features an ensemble cast including Don Cheadle, Matt Dillon, Sandra Bullock and Thandie Newton (Best supporting Actress at this year's BAFTA's).

It sets out to address difficult issues: why middle-class whites are afraid of working-class blacks, why being racist doesn't necessarily mean being inhuman, and how politics confuses the truth. It is set in LA.

'Brokeback Mountain' in English one night only!

Sarah Ridout — 2006-03-16T15:23:10Z

Remember the first ever Bonus PECC the acclaimed ‘Brokeback Mountain' is on (one session only!) Friday 17 March 20H45 (see earlier stories for ticketing info).

I hope to see you there for another great PECC movie,

Sarah

review:

Reviewed by Stella Papamichael Updated 05 January 2006 Contains strong language, moderate sex and violence

While the notion of gay cowboys may induce some sniggering in the back row, Brokeback Mountain is a masterclass in subtle directing. That's not to say Ang Lee shies away from sex; indeed the passion between the lovers is shockingly brutal. But it's a testament to his sensitive handling, and fearlessly vulnerable performances by Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger, that this love story between two ranch hands stands for something essentially human. It is both raw and exquisite.

In 1963 the sexual revolution has yet to hit Wyoming where the taciturn Ennis (Ledger) and extrovert Jack (Gyllenhaal) are thrown together on a sheep-herding job. When camaraderie develops into something more intimate, the script (based on Annie Proulx's short story) leans towards Ennis and his struggle to reconcile his feelings with resignation to "the way things are". Years pass and both men marry and have children, but denial of their bond only makes it stronger.

"ACHING CLAUSTROPHOBIA"

Ennis' ambiguity bleeds through the story with quiet foreboding. Each time he rebuffs Jack, he slips deeper within himself and Ledger plays it in every physical gesture - literally hunched in the shadow of his Stetson. In some ways Gyllenhaal is more sympathetic as the incorrigible optimist, but there is always an aching claustrophobia about their predicament, poignantly offset by sweeping mountain vistas. The images reflect the heartbreak and beauty of a tortured love affair and, without resorting to pat sentimentality, Lee builds to a stirring and soulful finale. Brokeback Mountain is a truly epic romance story from a director at the peak of his powers.

Communiquer en Français

MONA — 2006-02-22T22:04:31Z

Vous êtes anglo-saxon? Je suis moi-même bilingue (anglais/français) et je mets en place sur Montpellier, des stages pratiques de communication en français pour les adultes qui ont envie de s'exprimer dans cette langue, de connaitre sa culture, d'être capaple de se débrouiller dans les démarches administratives... ambiance chaleureuse garantie. pour plus d'informations, vous pouvez me contacter par mail ou au tétéphone (06 19 45 12 (...) - Need a Hand?

Success for first PECC double weekend

Sarah Ridout — 2006-02-22T22:04:28Z

It was a very successful first double screening weekend for PECC - thanks to all of you who came to the 2 sessions. The feedback I have received suggests most enjoyed the timely and thought provoking film ‘Good Night, and Good Luck'.
Remember in March we return to our first weekend of the month.
Sarah - Pezenas English Language Cinema Club