Thursday, May 6, 2010

"Un Ange Passe"

I was just watching an old Truffaut film called "Jules and Jim"and a scene just hit me - In it, two friends reunite after years of fighting on opposite sides of a war (Jules is French and Jim is German), they sit in Jules' house, and after a long tense silence, Jules says, "Un Ange Passe" or "An Angel is passing by" to describe the awkward moment. This French phrase struck me as beautifully poetic - describing a lull in conversation. (Jim also knowingly adds that 'Angels usually pass by at 20 minutes past or before the hour'.)

2 comments:

  1. Maybe that's why other cultures are more comfortable with sharing silence together - not feeling like the lull needs to be filled with meaningless babble. And of course I like Jim's comment - I imagine him being very matter-of-fact about it and just adding a little humor to the scene.

    Of course, I have not seen this film, so I may be completely misreading the whole thing. :)

    Have a great weekend, Anne!

    xoox,
    -maria

    ReplyDelete
  2. I've never heard that before. I love the description.

    ReplyDelete

The exchange of ideas is a key part of the human experience, don't you think? I would love to hear from you.

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