If you’re expecting a riot of orgies and sexual perversion, then think again. Director Benoît Jacquot has chosen to concentrate on the celebrated Marquis as libertarian and intellectual who spent a third of his life in jail, against the background of the French Revolution among the aristocrats, harlots and fops imprisoned at Picpus during the Terror. Daniel Auteuil’s de Sade is not so much sadist – apart from the large black dildo he uses as a paperweight – as a puppetmaster staging his play or cynical procurer, manipulating the desire of young Emilie.
Xavier Nogués
On display in the palatial MNAC are 32 drawings by the gifted, though now unjustly forgotten Catalan artist, Xavier Nogués. The paramount ‘noucentiste’, Nogués reached considerable fame at the beginning of the 20th-century for his humorous drawings of popular Catalan scenes and aphorisms. The drawings, executed in a loose and confident style reminiscent of Honoré Daumier, are from Nogués’ once-famous book, ‘Picturesque Catalonia’, first published in 1919 with commentaries by the writer Francesc Pujols.
Midnight Berlin
Although Berlin has grabbed more headlines in the world’s press than most other capitals in the last decade, German photographer Klaus Schiedt maintains that there are vast tracts of the city which are largely unknown. So he spent the past two decades snapping those quiet corners in the witching hour, revealing both the eerie sobriety and the immense beauty of the city’s architecture. Berlin has long been famed for the dazzling diversity of its nightlife but this exhibition offers an alternative glimpse of its nocturnal character.
Jablkon
Mixing pop and instrumentation borrowed from African chieftains, the Jablkon sound could not be mistaken for anyone else’s. These old hands on the Prague scene draw an eclectic, bookish crowd, who tend to enjoy listening more than dancing, so expect a mellow rather than manic night. The Czech-only lyrics are a challenge, but they don’t make a lot of linear sense anyway … it’s Jablkon’s vast collection of primitive drums, bells, gongs and other finds that you want to hear.
The English Shop
Do continental breakfasts leave you peckish? Then a full Anglo-Irish plate of grease could be just the ticket. A newly opened tea room next to Brussels’ English shop has just begun serving up weekend brunch with meat and eggs supplied by Irish butchers, Jack O’Shea’s, next door. For under 500BF (£10), you can gorge yourself on sausages, rashers and black pudding and wash it all down with bladder-bursting quantities of tea and coffee at no extra charge. During weekdays, the tea room specialises in lighter fare, such as salmon rolls and quiche lorraine.
