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What to Watch: Magical European Charm on the Big and Small Screen
A Movie and a TV Series: Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris, and Madam Blanc Mysteries
On the surface, these two works may not appear to have much in common, but they’re both centered around strong and humble female characters who sprinkle their love everywhere they go. Like Mary Poppins, their mere presence leaves everyone around them forever changed in the all the best ways.
Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris stars Lesley Manville as Ada, a hardworking cleaning woman in post-war Britain. Unaware that her MIA soldier husband, Eddie, is actually dead — she leads a modest life free from flirtation with the opposite sex, forever reminiscing about her darling husband. Bus then, when her interest is captured by a client’s beautiful haute couture dress, she vows to travel to Paris and buy a dress for herself. It seems like an odd premise for a remarkable story, which is why I put of watching it for so long. My mistake.
The earlier part of the film offers just enough of a look at all of the people who love Ada, to know that they’ll be there, ready to welcome her back. But the real action picks up after she arrives in Paris. For a humble, widowed, housecleaner, Ada Harris is remarkably brave, believing the best of nearly everyone, and somehow, charming her…
