Our take
Where The Umbrellas of Cherbourg lamented the tragedy of one missed connection, Jacques Demy follows it up with a much more upbeat love story in The Young Girls of Rochefort. It’s more hopeful. Even before you watch the end, it’s clear that there’s not one, but two chances at a happy ending, since there are two couples. But on top of that, it’s the girls’ conviction in love that makes everything brighter. Despite the logistics of their act, or the coincidences that had to align, or even the serial killer mentioned, The Young Girls of Rochefort remains bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, celebrating the bubbly optimism that musicals would have us believe in.
What it won
Oscars
1 nom
The story
In the seaside town of Rochefort, twin sisters Delphine and Solange dream of love and artistic fulfillment beyond their quiet lives. As sailors, artists, musicians, and chance visitors pass through town during a weekend fair, a web of near-misses and romantic longing brings ideal partners tantalizingly close—without their realizing it.
Elsewhere
"It must be allowed that [Jacques] Demy is an habitual offender on the count of sentimentality... yet he is capable of a tender, unsentimenial euphoria more intoxicating than any other film work in the field of sentimental farce."
— Carey Harrison
"It has charm, sustained human observation, mixed with catchy music, dances and songs to come up as a tuner with grace and dynamism."
— Variety Staff
Twin sisters Delphine and Solange hope to find romance and leave their small seaside town, which they might find through the fair happening on the weekend.
The cast. It’s a delight to find out that Catherine Deneuve and Françoise Dorléac are actually sisters, but spotting George Chakiris and Gene Kelly adds to the feeling that anything can happen, in the best possible way.
Mild spoilers: Yes, there was an axe murderer mentioned, I was surprised too.
Streaming arrival
Who picked it
Isabella Endrinal is a curator at A Good Movie to Watch. She's now free from the corporate night shift. Previous articles have been published in outlets such as NANG Magazine. She's currently catching up on some classic films… if she isn't coping with the fact that the Haikyu anime will end soon.
