I've decided that Friday will be my day to discuss all things French. I'm not a francophile, necessarily, although I'm a fan of some things about them. One of the things I like best, in fact, is their complete mockability. So you can expect these French Fridays (when I remember to do them) to be half "I like coq au vin, and also French boys are sometimes weirdly hot" and half "Can you believe what those cheese-eating, chablis-sucking surrender monkeys are doing?"

Today's inaugural post is of the "French boys are sometimes weirdly hot" variety.

Gaspard Ulliel

Why is he sexy? He looks like a little boy with a lopsided smile, whose brother has stolen his hairbrush. And yet...

Have you seen A Very Long Engagement? That movie explains some of it, at least for me; he has a magnetically appealing screen presence, even in a film where he speaks about four lines total. Along with a kind of hapless vulnerability that makes you want to take him home and cuddle him up.

Then he played Hannibal Lecter in the newest prequel. In which, of course, he's less sweet, more sinister. Still hot, though. I'd show you a clip, but you might have nightmares. It's icky.

But this isn't! This is yummy. Not to get all My So Called Life, or anything, but I like pictures of boys leaning.

Gaspard Ulliel is a heartthrob in France for a reason. Now that he's making the crossover to Hollywood, we'll see if his appeal is international, or limited to those who enjoy the archetype of the slender, emotional youth--otherwise known as the French.

If you're still not convinced, but would like to see more of Gaspard's odd charms, press 'play' in the post below. Ignore the music; every fanvid I looked at was saddled with the most atrocious tripe imaginable. This is the best of a bad lot. (At least it's French tripe, and therefore in keeping with my theme.)

Posted by Louisa Edwards at 11:08 PM