464. Les Demoiselles de Rochefort

Les Demoiselles de Rochefort
The Young Ladies of Rochefort
1967
Directed by Jacques Demy

We finally reach the end of a long streak of movies I have seen.  I hope I provided you with plenty of reading material and I will try to get back to this blog as soon as possible, although I have been neglecting my album and book blogs as of late.  Anyway, I absolutely adore this movie and can see watching it again and again.

Catherine Deneuve (wow that was quick) and Francoise Dorleac are two sisters, who long for romance outside of Rochefort.  And wait, what is Gene Kelly doing here?

Wow, what a fun movie.  You can see how colorful and beautiful the movie is simply from the above picture.  The songs are great and the entire cast is extremely talented.  This makes Umbrellas of Cherbourg look like...something worse than this film.  Sorry it is 12:11 AM.

RATING: *****

Interesting Facts:

Demy had to wait two years for Gene Kelly to be available for the film.

Best song in the movie:

417. Les Parapluies de Cherbourg

Les Parapluies de Cherbourg
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg
1964
Directed by Jacques Demy

Happy New Year's Eve everyone!  I plan on partying hard tonight (i.e. eating lots of cake).  Stay safe!

I have a slight problem with musicals that are sung from start to finish. There tends to be a lot of dead time and sometimes, especially when people are speaking very quickly to each other, it just sounds ridiculous.  Les Miserables has the same problem but there are tons of large scale numbers, like I Dreamed a Dream, On My Own, or A Heart Full of Love, to break apart the monotony.  However, this musical seems like it has no distinct songs and everything seems to be sung in the same melody.

Still, it is hard not to smile at this movie.  The film is completely gorgeous, from the sets to the pretty Catherine Deneuve (her character claims she does not wear any make up which is such bull by the way).  It is also ridiculously melodramatic, so it is difficult not to laugh and enjoy yourself.

Can we just take a moment to talk about what a stupid business idea an umbrella shop is?  I mean, you would never get returning customers because how many umbrellas does one person really need?  I have one that I rarely use because I lack the foresight to see if it is raining before I go outside.  And even if I did buy one, I wouldn't go to a shop just for umbrellas.  I have heard better business ideas from the Real Housewives.

Anyway, I have watched other Jacques Demy musicals and this one pales in comparison.  However, it was still worth a watch.

RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

References Lola, an earlier film of Jacques Demy.

372. Lola

Lola
1961
Directed by Jacques Demy

I have to confess that I watched this one while cleaning my chinchilla's cage and picking bedding out of my hair.  I was not really in the mood for such an artsy film, particularly when it failed to impress me.

This is the story of Lola, who hopes that her baby daddy's son will one day return to her.  Meanwhile, another man falls in love with her.  Ah, the perils of being a beautiful woman.

Jacques Demy described this movie as "a musical without music."  Maybe giving yourself a bit too much credit there.  Although the dialogue is quite rhythmic, the plot is too dull to be described in such a pleasing way.

Wow, that was a sucky review.  I am going skydiving tomorrow so I am trying to take my mind off my potential doom.  If writing crappy pieces is a good distraction, than how does Nora Roberts get any work done?  Zing!

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

A tribute to Max Ophuls.