The Umbrellas of Cherbourg / Les parapluies de Cherbourg (1964)
Drama | Musical | Romance
A young girl separated from her lover by war faces a life-altering decision.
Starring: Catherine Deneuve, Nino Castelnuovo, Anne Vernon, Marc Michel, Jean Champion, Harald Wolff
Director: Jacques Demy
Une chambre en ville / A Room in Town (1982)
Drama | Musical
In this musical melodrama set against the backdrop of a workers' strike in Nantes, a young woman who wishes to leave her brutish husband for an earthy steelworker, though he is involved with another. Unbeknownst to the girl, the object of her affection boards with her no-nonsense baroness mother.
Starring: Dominique Sanda, Danielle Darrieux, Richard Berry, Michel Piccoli, Jean-François Stévenin
Director: Jacques Demy
Lola (1961)
Drama | Romance
Jacques Demy's crystalline debut gave birth to the fictional universe in which so many of his characters would live, play and love. It's among his most profoundly felt films, a tale of crisscrossing lives in Nantes (Demy's hometown) that floats on waves of longing and desire. Heading the film's ensemble is the enchanting Anouk Aimée as the title character, a cabaret chanteuse who's awaiting the return of a long-lost lover and unwilling to entertain the adoration of another love-struck soul, the wanderer Roland (Marc Michel). Humane, wistful, and witty, LOLA is a testament to the resilience of the heartbroken.
Starring: Anouk Aimée, Marc Michel, Jacques Harden, Elina Labourdette, Corinne Marchand, Alan Scott
Director: Jacques Demy
La baie des anges / Bay of Angels (1963)
Drama | Romance
This precisely wrought, emotionally penetrating romantic drama from Jacques Demy, set largely in the casinos of Nice, is a visually lovely but darkly realistic investigation into love and obsession. A bottle-blonde Jeanne Moreau is at her blithe best as a gorgeous gambling addict, and ClaudeMann is the bank clerk drawn into her risky world. Featuring a mesmerizing score by Michel Legrand, BAY OF ANGELS is among Demy's most somber works.
Starring: Jeanne Moreau, Claude Mann, Paul Guers, Henri Nassiet, André Certes, Nicole Chollet
Director: Jacques Demy
The Young Girls of Rochefort / Les demoiselles de Rochefort (1967)
Comedy | Drama | Musical | Romance
Jacques Demy followed up THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG with another musical about missed connections and second chances, this one a more effervescent confection. Twins Delphine and Solange, a dance instructor and a music teacher (played by real-life sisters Catherine Deneuve and Françoise Dorléac), long for big-city life; when a fair comes through their quiet port town, so does the possibility of escape. With its jazzy Michel Legrand score, pastel paradise of costumes, and divine supporting cast (George Chakiris, Grover Dale, Danielle Darrieux, Michel Piccoli and Gene Kelly), THE YOUNG GIRLS OF ROCHEFORT is a tribute to Hollywood optimism from sixties French cinema's preeminent dreamer.
Starring: Catherine Deneuve, George Chakiris, Françoise Dorléac, Gene Kelly, Jacques Perrin, Michel Piccoli
Director: Jacques Demy
