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Two major Hollywood films out at the moment which might be worth a view for any Francophile.
“A Good Day” with Russell Crowe is clearly designed to hit the buttons of most of us who yearn for a quieter, better life, under the Provencal sun - especially as we lurch towards a British winter and the clocks go back.”Based on the novel by Peter Mayle, the film is about failed London banker Max Skinner (Crowe) who moves to Provence to tend a vineyard he inherited from his uncle, played by Albert Finney.”. Peter Mayle is something of a controversial character, having been responsible for fuelling the caricature (and house prices) of rural France with its idiosyncratic, loveable characters, stunning scenery, great weather and all the bounty of the French countryside. But he is a marketing man and writes seductively (if not terribly well or reliably) about that French idyll we all crave. So the film is bound to be full of eye candy (and I don’t mean the actors!) - lavender and vines abound.
Marie Antoinette looks to be something of a romp through French history - “.Based on Antonia Fraser’s biography of Marie Antoinette, “a naive, 14 year old Austrian becomes the Queen of France. Often maligned, passionately debated and ultimately a misunderstood young woman, Marie Antoinette (Kirsten Dunst) emerges neither as staid historical villain nor divine idol - but as a confused and lonely teenage outsider thrust against her will into a decadent and scandal-plagued world on the eve of disaster” It will doubtless throw some light on a key figure in French history before the Revolution, and whose excesses probably acted as an additional spur to the angry populace, but looks to be more of a glossy pastiche than a serious historical contribution.
At Versailles and throughout the Paris/Ile de France region there are examples of her legacy in a wide variety of sites and museums.

The Conciergerie on the banks of the Seine where the queen was held in prison - her cell can still be visited. “The haunting gothic atmosphere of the Basilica de St Denis is the last resting place of the French monarchs and it is here that visitors can pay their respects to Marie Antoinette as it is where her remains are buried. Evoking happier times for the queen, the fabulous Château de Fontainebleau sits in the heart of the forest that shares its name. Perhaps the château that, more than any other exemplifies the French monarchy (it was added to by rulers from Francois I to Napoleon), is the home of the boudoir of Marie Antoinette. This private chamber demonstrates the queen’s style and taste with fine furnishings and art works commissioned by her. The objects belonging to Marie Antoinette also show visitors what the queen was like. Fine collections are housed at the Musée Nissim de Camondo and the Musée Carnavalet. “
For more info on Marie Antoinette sites in and around Paris see http://uk.franceguide.com
For more on the film see www.marieantoinette.co.uk