Kaurismäki Cannesissa

 °

Aki Kaurismäki concourt pour la cinquième fois pour la Palme d’or 

avec Kuolleet Lehdet (Les Feuilles Mortes), déclinaison empreinte 

d’humanité de son univers tendre et loufoque.

😎

FALLEN LEAVES tells the story of two lonely people 

(Alma Pöysti and Jussi Vatanen) who meet each other by chance 

in the Helsinki night and try to find the first, only, and ultimate 

love of their lives. Their path towards this honourable goal 

is clouded by the man’s alcoholism, lost phone numbers, not 

knowing each other’s names or addresses, and life’s general tendency 

to place obstacles in the way of those seeking their happiness.

This gentle tragicomedy, previously thought to be lost, 

is the fourth part of Aki Kaurismäki’s working-class trilogy 

(Shadows in Paradise, Ariel, and The Match Factory)

https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/f/kuolleet-lehdet/

Kaappasin hieman kuvia ensi-illan punaisen maton näkymistä.

Aki Kaurismäki ei ole show mies. Hyvin hän veti tämän.

Mutta lähti sitten ennen palkintojen jakoa (lauantaita) jo

takaisin Karkkilaan. 

Kuolleet lehdet voitti tuomaristopalkinnon eli pääsi pronssille,

ja elokuvassa esiintyvä koirakin palkittiin.

Alma, the mutt who plays Chaplin in Aki Kaurismäki‘s Fallen Leaves 

lapped up the Grand Jury prize, with the film’s human stars, 

Alma Pöysti and Jussi Vatanen, on hand to accept the honorary 

dog collar. “In the spirit of Aki Kaurismäki, there is not much 

to say,” noted Pöysti, choosing to go with an honorary 

“Woof” or, as they say in Finland.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/palm-dog-2023-anatomy-of-a-fall-cannes-border-collie-messi-1235500571/

Toulon

° 

Typical scenery: you arrive almost ahead of time for embarking.

Then you read your messages in order to find out that

the ferry will be delayed at least with two hours.

Killed the waiting time by watching this funny travel thing:

Our man in Japan with James May.

So funny! On Prime tv.

Or best of in 24 minutes:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPfijTQXZ0I 

Well, actually such a great opportunity to check out the town of Toulon.

Definitely a harbor town.

Toulon is a city on the French Riviera and a large port 

on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base.

Toulon is an important centre for naval construction, fishing, 

wine making, and the manufacture of aeronautical equipment, 

armaments, maps, paper, tobacco, printing, shoes, 

and electronic equipment. WOW! (Wikipedia)

The sculpture Royal ship Neptune at the Place Vatel.

One of those chic French shops.

Like this one, as well.

Love the mosaic!

Les Halles de Toulon - Biltoki

The market hall is a very modern food court.

In this iconic building in the city, 25 independent artisans and 

food traders reinvent this friendly and hospitable location.

Check their presentation here:

https://biltoki.com/en/halles/hallestoulon/

 

Of course, we had to check the cathedral,

Cathédrale Notre-Dame-de-la-Seds de Toulon

Quite a pale facade.

But inside: pretty cool!

The most notable work of art in the cathedral is the eighteenth 

century Baroque retable made to hold the Holy Sacrament, 

located in the Corpus Christi chapel. The original retable 

was designed by the sculptor and painter Pierre Puget, 

and made of wood. The original was destroyed by fire in 

1661, and replaced in 1681 by a replica made of marble and 

stucco by Puget's nephew and student, Christophe Veyrier.

(thanks Wikipedia)

Finally our ferryboat arrived.

Aurevoir Toulon!

Auf Wiedersehen!

Ehkä jälleennäkemisiin.

The journey war pretty comfortable, our cabin

was space and we even had a balcony.

In the morning a stopover in Menorca.

What happened with the sunny weather in the Balearics?

Our road trip was good, might do it again one day.

Avignon

°

Sing along! 

... ja sama suomeksi!

Kirjasta Tie musiikkiin, Musica II

Erkki Pohjola - Egil Cederlöf

Kuvittanut Veronica Leo

Kolmas painos

Ja kaikkihan me soitettiin nokkahuilua!

Finnisch für Anfänger:

NOKKAHUILU = Blockflöte / fipple flute 

Back to Avignon.

In the oldest art gallery in town, Ducastel,

I detected these wonderful, funny ladies.

The artist is called Titou Vergier, 

she works with papier-mâché.

http://www.titouvergier.com/index.html

Avignon was pretty crowded, as it was kind of a long weekend

and everybody enjoyed the nice, mild summer day.

Books hops, yes, in France there still are quite many.

And funny: human comedy selling disaster edition postcards.

The market hall is pretty impressive from outside.

Inside okay.

The most important sight in Avignon is the Palace of the Popes.

Check all facts and figures in here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palais_des_Papes

The most famous sight in Avignon definitely is the bridge.

A wooden bridge spanning the Rhône between Villeneuve-lès-Avignon 

and Avignon was built between 1177 and 1185. This early bridge was 

destroyed forty years later in 1226 (...). Beginning in 1234 the bridge 

was rebuilt with 22 stone arches. The stone bridge was about 900 m 

in length and only 4.9 m in width, including the parapets at the sides. 

The bridge was abandoned in the mid-17th century as the arches tended to 

collapse each time the Rhône flooded making it very expensive to maintain. 

Four arches and the gatehouse at the Avignon end of the bridge have survived.
(Wikipedia)

View from the bridge towards Avignon.

Visit with audio guide: 5 Euros.

Read more here:

https://www.planetware.com/tourist-attractions-/avignon-f-az-av.htm

Villeneuve-lès-Avignon

°

Sometimes the best hotels do not have to show

the greatest facade.

And the sun does not shine but

the village ist still very charming, French.

There still are quite many book shops in France.

Nice.

Sightseeing.

Mighty!

Such a view over Avignon.

Avignon, and the famous bridge.

Shop selling movie posters!

Very pittoresque.

Wall decoration.

Local post office - closing time.

The weather in May 2023 ... there have been better years!

Le marché des antiquaires on Sunday also suffered

a bit of the rainy weather.

But it was very nice to scroll through.

A shoe?

Funny musicians!

Did not ask for the price of this cat.