Jane Birkin passed away at age 76. Like so many French
actresses (like her own daughter Charlotte Gainsbourg)
she never seems to grow old, always remains a blur of
energy, a wisp of a girl. The obituaries have focused
on her nymphet appeal, but perhaps because of the time
I started following cinema, I will always remember her
for the films made in her forties: _Kung Fu Master_ by
Varda, _Daddy Nostalgia_ by Tavernier, and _La Belle
Noiseuse_ by Rivette. The middle title features Dirk
Bogarde as a dying father, and starkly highlights Birkin's
still-youthful energy. It also depicts Birkin navigating
between her English and French heritage, in a way which
is almost biographical. I once had a copy of that film;
not sure where it went now. But at least I can rewatch
Birkin in Resnais' _Same Old Song_.

------------------------------------------------------

Cedric Klapisch's focus on the loves and exploits of
youths has never changed. He is like Eric Rohmer in
that way, although he is less literary, considered
more light- weight. I think the recent _Back to
Burgandy_ is his best film; the ever regal Maria
Valverde injects gravitas and enforced maturity to
his cast. "Greek Salad," a sequel of sort to his
trilogy of multinational youths barracked together,
explores aging and mortality in a different way. It
brings back Romain Duris, Keilly Reilly, and Cecile
de France as elder statesmen lurking in the background,
ceding the spotlight to a new generation of multi-ethnic
youths. Aliocha Schnedier and Megan Northam play
Xavier's (Duris) and Wendy's (Reilly) entrepreneur
son Tom and wayward daughter Mia. Their estranged
grandfather has died in Athens, leaving them an
apartment building. Tom flies there to re-unite with Mia,
who has secretly quit university to work for an
NGO helping refugees. Soon the run-down apartment
is home to their Italian, Czech, and Syrian friends and
squatters.

"Greek Salad" is more serious than the previous
trilogy, touching on the horrific refugee crisis
(much of it created by U.S. presidents, of course),
sexual identity, and "me too" comeuppance. Tom is
the typical gentle, feckless Klapisch protagonist
trying to find his way, while Mia is more of a
hardened cookie. She is nowhere as charismatic
as her on-screen mother (filming Kelly Reilly
strutting down the street in _Russian Dolls_ is
the absolute highlight of Klapisch's career),
but when they share a scene, mostly fighting with
each other, you sort of see the resemblance.
Cecile de France's lesbian tough chick makes
a few appearances too, but curiously none of
the old gang does a cameo in the 8-hour series.
(Except the Natacha character.) Audrey Tautou
and Judith Godrech have almost retired. But
here's hoping Klapisch never grows old, at
least in spirit.

(At the very end, "Greek Salad" touches on Russia's
invasion of Ukraine, and the young generations'
revulsion towards that. I wish Klapisch has shown
similar distaste for the People's Republic of China;
Tom ultimately flies to Hong Kong to further his
career without any mention of the PRC's attrocities
there and elsewhere.)

-----------------------------------------------

"The Eddy" is about an American jazz musician
(Andre Holland) managing a club in Paris. He
writes jazzy show-tunes for his rag-tag band,
featuring singer and his sometime-lover Maja
(Joanna Kulig). Holland is wonderful here and
makes you forget his bland turn in _Passing_,
while the voice of Kulig (_Cold War_), a real-life
singer, permeates almost every scene. But the
real revelation is Elliot's biracial daughter
played by the young Amandla Stenberg. The
Netflix series is shot hand-held, sometimes on
a cell phone, with swirling camera motion, jazz
music, drugs ... none of which is really my
thing, but in spite of myself I really admire
the verve and youthful energy. Keep an eye on
that Amandla Stenberg!

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