Potemkine

If you know what the name ‘Potemkine’ refers to (Russian cineaste Sergueï Eisenstein’s 1925 silent movie “The Battleship Potemkin”), chances are this boutique just off the Canal St-Martin is for you. Its orderly walls are lined with shelves laden with DVDs covering everything from Fellini classics to rare experimental films by Stan Brakhage, and docu-dramas by Peter Watkins. In this age of virtual downloads, Potemkine is the antidote for film buffs in need of something to hold: Pick up the DVDs, read their blurbs, sniff ‘em, caress them, and study the graphics on their covers without the flickering of a computer screen playing on your eyes.  It makes a refreshing change to FNAC; and many of the films on sale aren’t even readily available on the high-street.