The Young Girls of Rochefort came along at a time when, perhaps, the musical picture was dispersing from its great cinematic run. Jacques Demy had contributed hugely to the popularity re-birth of musicals in Europe. And he was now unknowingly writing and directing such a film on the eve of an extraordinary shift in cinema’s adulthood.
I may well be talking American cinema here, sure, but the dominating force was entering a darker, grittier phase. With the likes of Bonnie and Clyde, In the Heat of the Night, and Point Blank bursting onto the scene, the heavy-hitting crime genre was about to explode. That said, The Young Girls of Rochefort might have slipped through the net in 1967. But as the years roll by, Jacques Demy’s crowd-pleaser has continued to cement its excellence.
Often compared to Demy’s previous masterpiece, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, the music execution in The Young Girls of Rochefort is on a different level. The 1964 Palme d’Or winner incorporated lyrical dialogue, a kind of melodic words on the page over flat-out set list. The Young Girls of Rochefort sparkles with music and dance numbers, from a diverse, thriving cast ensemble.
“Jacques Demy was, of course, one of the great adventurers in French cinema.”
Jacques Demy was, of course, one of the great adventurers in French cinema of the 1960s. Hardly recognised in the French New Wave movement, the filmmaker went his own way. And that very determination is what made Demy unique. I mean, he ignored the advice that he could not make musicals in France; married the innovative film-maker Agnes Varda; got Yves Montand to sing and dance (in 1988’s Three Seats for the 26th – Demy’s final film).
The Young Girls of Rochefort stars Catherine Deneuve and Françoise Dorléac as sisters (as they were in real life), on a quest for the ideal love over a few days in yet another coastal location – this time Rochefort, obviously. Delphine (Deneuve) and Solange (Dorléac) teach ballet and music, respectively. When a fair comes to town, with it sweeps in two potential suitors. And Gene Kelly is here, too, as a composer. Of course.
Much of the action takes place in a café, owned by Delphine and Solange’s mother Yvonne (Danielle Darrieux). Again, with Demy’s work, physical location plays a key role in the film’s emotional structure. Themes of separation, missed opportunities, chance, love, are well taken care of in Demy’s carefully constructed social hub.
The eccentricity of the film’s musical routines are snapped up a couple of gears from Umbrellas, understandably so given the ‘happier’ table display. The choreography by Norman Maen is splashy and energetic, partnering the vibrancy of the film’s vivid tones – figuratively and actually.
“The use of colour and light pops like bubblegum.”
Michel Legrand returns to compose the music score, with Demy himself writing the lyrics. A much more conventional take on the musical form, Demy illustrates not only a deft hand with the craft, but also tips his hat to the Hollywood musical once again. The Young Girls of Rochefort was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Scoring of a Musical Picture.
Bright, bubbly, with only an undercurrent of the kind sobering matters of the heart that made The Umbrellas of Cherbourg so richly masterful, The Young Girls of Rochefort rounds of the romance trilogy harmoniously. The use of colour and light pops like bubblegum, offering a textual kind of dual love story with all its little complications.
Demy is in his element here, gliding his signature cinematic strokes against the grain of that thing called love. His cultural awareness, too, has its place in the movie – even if just a smidgen. The Algerian war having been over for a few years, Demy signals the importance of the impact. One character reading about how trouble sees to be everywhere while reading a newspaper might just be referring to that.
One untouchable strand of poignancy that will forever be part of The Young Girls of Rochefort and its legacy, is the leading ladies. With Belle De Jour, Catherine Deneuve was having quite the year in 1967. And already a big, bright shining star in the industry. Sadly, on the cusp of similar status, her older sister, and co-star here, Françoise Dorléac, died in a car accident, shortly after the film was complete. Beyond the delight of Jacques Demy’s 1967 picture, there’s an unforeseeable love, and The Young Girls of Rochefort ought to be treasured so.
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