Open Air | Les Demoiselles de Rochefort - English subtitled
If you want to know where Damien Chazelle got his inspiration for La Land you should not miss out on this swinging, romantic and colourful musical masterpiece by Jacques Demy.
Sisters Delphine and Solange (Catherine Deneuve and her real-life sister Françoise Dorleac) grow up in Rochefort, a sleepy town on the west coast of France. They dream of love and a career in the art world, and eagerly await the moment when they can exchange their life in Rochefort for life in the big city. While preparing for a new life in Paris, the sisters do not realise that their dreams are about to come true in their hometown. For a travelling carnival has descended on the town, with an American musician, played by Gene Kelly, in its ranks.
Jacques Demy followed up the Golden Palm winner LES PARAPLUIES DE CHERBOURG (1964) with LES DEMOISELLES DE ROCHEFORT. Once again a musical, the director’s favourite genre, with another leading role for Catherine Deneuve, pastel-coloured costumes and a score by Michel Legrand. The film is a swinging ode to Hollywood musicals; those who know the classics will recognise nods to, among others, WEST SIDE STORY, SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN, AN AMERICAN IN PARIS and GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES. In its turn, LES DEMOISELLES DE ROCHEFORT became a source of inspiration for contemporary filmmakers, with LA LA LAND as the clearest example. Besides being an ode to love and life, the film is also an intimate coming-of-age story and a complex portrait of France in an era of societal change.