While viewing the first red carpet screening last night of "The Man from London" a film by Hungarian director Béla Tarr, a man with a following, my date and I were shocked.

But besides the 15 minute long shots, it wasn't the film that shocked my American date and I. It was the fact that, during the whole film, there were mass exoduses of people, and also random clapping-to be- funny periods! All going on with the Director and his crew and the actors in the same room!

Even though we weren't enjoying the film either, which was too dark and too slow and too silent, we did not have the guts too leave. That would just be impolite.

But now I realize, that's just how they do it here.

Perhaps it runs along the same lines as my theory that Americans are more sensitive in general (in the be careful not to offend kind of way) than french people are, relating back to what they told us Americans before coming to study in France. In France, your grades are called out in front of the whole class, but in America the teachers and staff wouldn't dare accidentally shatter your self- esteem.

In the class room in France, if you do poorly you should know it and everyone else should know it too, much like in the cinema. If the people don't like your film you will know it because the people will leave while you're in the room.

Hmmm a pretty refreshing straightforward-ness I think. I guess It would have been better to leave rather than to passive aggressively dislike the movie by napping (and never finding a comfortable way to sleep in my short black dress and three inch heels).