A very welcome rerelease of Demy's delightful 1967 musical.
The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967)
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Reviews Counted:32
Fresh:32
Rotten:0
Average Rating:8/10
Theatrical Release:14-08-2009
Synopsis: In THE YOUNG GIRLS OF ROCHEFORT, the follow up to the revolutionary UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG (1963), director Jacques Demy continues his experiments with narrative and the musical form, as well as... In THE YOUNG GIRLS OF ROCHEFORT, the follow up to the revolutionary UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG (1963), director Jacques Demy continues his experiments with narrative and the musical form, as well as his collaboration with composer Michel Legrand. Characters meet, story lines cross, families expand and all is expressed in booming song, exploding color, and elegant choreography. Catherine Deneuve and her real life sister, Francoise Dorleac play sisters who run a music and ballet school and in their spare time seek love and adventure. Their Mother runs a café in the Town Square which is the eye of the romantic and dramatic storm that runs through the film. A young sailor mopes at the café dreaming of an ideal love, a local music merchant regrets his lost love, a carnival enters town and two of its members convince the sisters to put on a spectacle. Gene Kelley makes an appearance, as do elements from many Hollywood musicals, added in pastiche. As the film reaches a hysterical and breakneck pace, lovers are lost and found, separated and reunited and the glittering, pastel glamour of the town of Rochefort plays a starring role. Love's endurance and the persistence of chance reign as the ridiculous and the sublime combine to create a cinematic experience unlike any other. [More]
Starring: Catherine Deneuve, Françoise Dorléac, Danielle Darrieux, George Chakiris
Starring: Catherine Deneuve, Françoise Dorléac, Danielle Darrieux, George Chakiris, Gene Kelly, Michel Piccoli, Jacques Perrin, Grover Dale, Henri Cremieux, Jacques Riberolles
Director: Jacques Demy
Director: Jacques Demy
Screenwriter: Jacques Demy
Producer: Mag Bodard, Gilbert de Goldschmidt
Composer: Michel Legrand
Reviews for The Young Girls of Rochefort
A luminous musical about dreams, romance and destiny which lovingly reworks the classic Hollywood ‘putting on a show’ template into an essay on the emotional rollercoaster ride that is movie-going.
The result is uncommonly pleasing or defiantly twee: take your choice.
An intriguing mix of French New Wave and Hollywood Musical, this still succeeds in sweeping you off your feet.
The fondant-fancy colours make the film all the more escapist, yet some pop songs can pierce you to the core.
What makes the film so lovable and still so gladsomely alive today is how closely it hews to Demy’s distinctive, celebratory vision of life.
There's something irresistibly swinging, even promiscuous, about the whole affair.
Reminiscent of a Shakespearean comedy and seems to tap into a romantic yearning that is hardwired into our DNA. Absolutely sublime.
I like it better than the decidedly more grim The Umbrellas of Cherbourg.
A delightful confection, made all the sweeter by Michel Legrand's jazzy, toe-tapping score and the energetic cast.
Pauline Kael noted the effort “demonstrates how even a gifted Frenchman who adores American musicals misunderstands their conventions.”
The colors appear faded after thirty-one years but the voices and music come across just fine.
Friends and family on my Christmas list might just see this disc in their stocking
Deneuve is in a class and breed of her own, even outside of her own sister.
This is a film about music and color, an impressive follow-up to the similar The Umbrellas of Cherbourg
Here is romantic intrigue served up with a knowing lack of shame, a musical boasting star power of the highest magnitude that satirizes the conventions of the movie musical with affection and wicked glee.
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