From Angèle to Spider-Man, 25 ideas to start the Christmas holidays off right<

Come on, be brave, a few more days before the end-of-year holidays, when hearty family meals and festive New Year's Eve parties with friends will follow one another. Between cinema blockbusters, big shows for children, Christmas markets and event exhibitions, the cultural offer is very busy. Just like the plates! Moreover, after Cyril Lignac, the three-star chef Eric Pras invites himself in turn with his refined traditional cuisine. To discover at the end of our newsletter. Be well and have a great week!

7 ideas for outings and activities

1. We are dazzled by the Lumières en Seine festival, which takes place in the national domain of Saint-Cloud (Hauts-de-Seine) until the end of the holidays. Book your tickets online here.
2. We are listening until Saturday to classical guitar virtuosos at the Lyon Guitar Festival, organized by the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional de Lyon (Rhône) which is celebrating its 150th anniversary. The details of the four scheduled dates are online.
3. We are witnessing the return to the Grand Palais of the great artist Anselm Kiefer with a new exhibition, entitled "For Paul Celan", which begins tomorrow for a month. To see in the "ephemeral" version of the building currently under renovation. To find out more, visit the site.
4. We discover part of the treasure of precious stones found in 2013 on the Bossons glacier and which is exhibited in the brand new Crystal Museum in Chamonix ( Haute-Savoie), which opens this weekend. For more details, it's here.
5. We're having a session with the latest Marvel film, Spider-Man 3: No Way Home, which promises to be the hit of the year. Read our review here. But from La Panthère des neiges to Un Héros, many other good films await you!
6. We admire shots at the Images singulières festival which takes place at the Documentary Photographic Center in Sète (Hérault) until December 31 . To find out more, it's here.
7. Take your children to discover the films of your childhood during La Cinémathèque Junior en fête in Toulouse (Haute-Garonne). From Charlot to Gremlins, many classics are broadcast from Saturday to next Wednesday. Schedules online.

The list of the week: 5 circuses for the holidays

Because Christmas is an opportunity to take your children to the show and because the circus today no longer resembles that of decades past, here are our five recommendations for the holidays:

Behind the scenes: why Angèle brought forward the release of her album

After the success of her first opus, Angèle released Nonante-Cinq on Friday, a second album already ranked among the best-selling of the week . Without warning the public and the media, the young Belgian singer had brought forward the release of this album by a week on digital platforms. She did not deliver the explanation until Sunday in the JDD. “The idea came to me because I had the Covid, she explains. I remembered how I celebrated my 25th birthday in 2020: in full confinement, all alone in pajamas with my dog. I was planning to catch up this year and bam, I get the Covid for my birthday!"

"I found this way of hustling rather than spending ten days twiddling my thumbs, especially as my symptoms were bearable - sore throat, severe cold, fatigue but no fever or difficulty breathing , she continues. I decided to organize a live on Instagram to announce the release of the album for my 26th birthday. The platforms already had it, I just hit the button earlier than expected ."

Read our interview with singer Angèle: "I never dreamed of success"

1 work in 1 minute: The Groom by Chaïm Soutine

The painter Chaïm Soutine (1893-1943), born in the former Belarus and died of illness and poverty in Paris during the Second World War, is attached to the School of Paris, with Chagall and Modigliani. This precursor of abstract expressionism notably drew from it the idea of ​​deforming figures, as if they were made of modeling clay, of making expressive distortion. This is the case of the Groom painted in 1925. This canvas is part of a series dating from the 1920s on small trades, from hotel porters to valets, from pastry cooks to altar boys.

The puny groom, with raised shoulders, looks like a puppet, with his disjointed body resting on an invisible stool, or floating in the void. His face, white, sunken and melancholy, with reddened eyelids, contrasts with the bright red color of his uniform, and against the indeterminate background, dark blue, almost black. His hands, thick, were painted with a particularly nervous touch, clutching his costume.

Spreading his legs in a grotesque pose, showing a bulge in his pants, the young man (a hunter from Maxim's, who posed as a model) stares into space. (M.-A.K.)

To be seen in the exhibition "Soutine-De Kooning, painting incarnate" at the Musée de l'Orangerie in Paris until January 10.

The first words: Les Promises by Jean-Christophe Grangé

The latest book by the master of thrillers has caused a sensation since its release in September. A new best-seller after The Crimson Rivers, The Flight of the Storks or The Empire of the Wolves. This time, Jean-Christophe Grangé has not only won over his audience, but also the critics. The reason? Without changing his captivating style, he swapped contemporary thrillers flirting with fantasy for historical thrillers.

A long-time journalist by profession, Jean-Christophe Grangé has done a good job: The Promises immerses us with detailed historical precision in the Nazi Berlin of 1939. A serial killer takes the lives of several great ladies of the Reich, wives of officers and powerful industrialists. In a very tense pre-war context, a gifted psychoanalyst, a Gestapo brute and a wealthy heiress will have to join forces to track down the murderer.

The classic to review: The murderous summer

It's always moving to witness the birth of a star. For the first time on Blu-ray, The Deadly Summer (1983), by Jean Becker, has lost none of its power. Having already played for the greatest (François Truffaut, Roman Polanski, Werner Herzog, James Ivory, Andrzej Zulawski…), Isabelle Adjani explodes in this drama adapted from the eponymous novel by Sébastien Japrisot, which earned her the César for best actress for his stunning performance.

She plays the young Eliane, known as Elle, who moves with her parents to a village in Provence in 1976. Sensual and provocative, she panics the inhabitants and catches the eye of Florimond (Alain Souchon), mechanic and volunteer firefighter . Her incandescent beauty and her indomitable temperament seduce him, so much so that he installs her in the family home. He does not know that she is hatching a Machiavellian plan...

Jean Becker has directed a film of rape and revenge (rape and revenge) before its time, based on a straightforward script that maintains unease and an exceptional cast (Michel Galabru and Suzanne Flon in the lead ). The tension increases as the noose tightens, offering Isabelle Adjani the role of a free, independent and manipulative young woman, strong and fragile, cyclothymic and hysterical, hiding within her a heavy secret for too long.

In the background, Yves Montand's famous song, Trois petite notes de musique, sounds like a macabre ritornello. For the anecdote, Maïwenn, with the same intense blue eyes, appears in one of her first roles playing Eliane at the age of 9. (S.B.)

To be seen on Blu-Ray and DVD combo (M6 Video), 25 euros, as well as on VOD on several platforms.

The series you'll be addicted to: The Young Pope

For twenty years, the Italian Paolo Sorrentino has never ceased to amaze. He transformed Sean Penn into an exhausted gothic rock star (This Must Be the Place), took part in a Brazilian sketch film (Rio, je t'aime), attempted a gargantuan portrait of Berlusconi (Silvio and the others) or revisited Roman myths (La grande bellezza, Oscar for best foreign film). Again this year, it is where no one expected it: it is released on Netflix on Friday The Hand of God, an intimate tribute to football player Maradona.

The man does not limit himself to the cinema: a novelist in his spare time, he has also tried his hand at the format of the series. In 2016, he thus designed The Young Pope, an iconoclastic and crazy work which was made possible by the unprecedented association between three giants: HBO, Canal+ and Sky. The result is worth the consequent budget.

The very idea of ​​the series is provocative: imagine a young, handsome, smoking and drinking pope, who cites Daft Punk and Banksy as models and… who is totally obscurantist. This madman of God, a disturbing and elusive Shakespearian hero, is played by an incredible Jude Law - undoubtedly the greatest role of his career -, supported by an equally improbable cast (Diane Keaton, Cécile de France, Silvio Orlando...).

Paolo Sorrentino had already explored behind the scenes of the Vatican in Il Divo, the masterpiece that revealed him. But with The Young Pope, he allows himself all the audacity to better question the problematic loneliness of power. The series worked so well that it gave rise to a sequel, The New Pope, with an anthology face to face between Jude Law and John Malkovich.

The Young Pope and The New Pope, two mini-series of 10 and 9 episodes of 55 minutes each, to see on VOD and streaming on Canal+.

The turnkey weekend: ten centuries of military history in the Northern Vosges

Travellers coming to Alsace often head for Strasbourg and then the Haut-Rhin, where the typical villages are dotted along the vineyards. However, the region hides beautiful treasures in its northern part. The Northern Vosges, lower than the southern Ballons, are covered with thick forests, charming villages and ponds with calm waters.

In the past, this area on the borders of Alsace, the German Palatinate and Lorraine was disputed for a long time. Symbol of these tumultuous times, the hills are punctuated by numerous military works. Start the excursion in Bitche (Moselle), a town dominated by an impressive Vauban citadel from which the view is panoramic. Then set off to discover the spectacular medieval forts: those of Falkenstein in Philippsbourg (Moselle), Lichtenberg (Bas-Rhin), or, on the border with Germany, Fleckenstein.

The Northern Vosges also have the most beautiful works that can be visited on the Maginot Line: the Château de Schoenenbourg, in Hunspach (Bas-Rhin), and especially the Simserhof, in Siersthal (Moselle), including an underground visit in an automated vehicle is exciting.

And if you want to stay for more than a weekend

These fortresses are often located in the middle of an exceptional natural setting, that of the Vosges du Nord natural park. The walking routes are legion. Among other possible hikes, we recommend a detour to the Hanau pond and the lush surrounding forest, that of the Waldeck keep. A real decor of tales and legends.

Thanks to these forest resources and abundant water, the region has famous representatives of French craftsmanship. Still in operation, the Saint-Louis crystal factory, in Saint-Louis-lès-Bitche (Moselle), exhibits its impressive collections in a visitable space. Another ambassador of luxury made in France, the Lalique factory has been established in the Vosges for a century and a half. A few kilometers from the factory, in Wingen-sur-Moder (Bas-Rhin), a very complete museum presents 650 works including the treasures designed by René Lalique, the master of art nouveau jewellery.

The gourmet recipe: the secrets of Eric Pras, the discreet multi-starred chef of Maison Lameloise

Some chefs receive little media coverage and yet are acclaimed by everyone, critics, professionals and gourmets. Eric Pras is one of them. Having chained the prestigious restaurants (Troisgros, Loiseau, Gagnaire, Marcon…), he took the reins, in 2009 at the age of 37, of the Maison Lameloise, three Michelin stars, in Chagny (Saône-et-Loire ). For twelve years, this best worker in France has been defending traditional gastronomy here with a touch of fantasy.

Discreet, he decided to pass on his knowledge in an approach, unprecedented for him, through a book published at the end of November. For a month, we reveal some recipes. This week: Rack of lamb roasted with mustard, celery branch and rave.

For 4 people. Ingredients:

The lamb: 1 rack of lamb, 10 to 12 ribs, grapeseed oil, 50 g fresh butter, 1 tablespoon grain mustard, salt and pepper Celery stalk and root: 400 g celery - turnip, 4 stalks of celery, 30 g of honey, 20 g of sherry vinegar, 4 cl of olive oil, 40 g of butter, 1 sprig of thyme, salt and freshly ground pepper Finishing and dressing: leaves of fried celery, confit garlic, 10 cl of lamb juice Preparation:

Lamb:

Celery stalk and root:

Finishing and dressing: