Une chambre en ville

I had thought Jacques Demy had abandoned his movie operas after the 1960s, but no, he hadn't, and here's the proof. He's working with Colombier instead of LeGrand, and there's a lot more recitative, but unlike others who have tried to translate opera onto the screen, he has cinematographer Jean Penzer shoot it like a movie.... although Mme. Darrieux's flat does look like a stage design.

I do wonder if her daughter is wearing only a fur coat, as the dialogue indicates.

"Une Chambre de Ville" is a tragic opera set during the strike of a shipyard workers union in 1955. Against the backdrop of clashes between police and strikers, the story is about two star-crossed lovers.

Francois is one of the striking workers and Edith is the dissatisfied wife of a television salesman. Fate brings them together and the result feels Shakespearian. They sing of never-ending love, but this is a story about unhappiness--for them and the other main characters.

Though the lyrics/dialogue are rather unpoetic in a classical sense, the music is powerful and lyrical. Indeed, the musical score is one of the best parts of the film.

Noticeable attention has been paid the scenery, with an emphasis on bright colors, providing striking images.

The actors have adequate singing voices, but the central theme--the great love of Francois (Richard Berry) and Edith (Dominique Sanda)-- is unconvincing. Their love feels rather conventional, certainly not a love for the ages. The viewer wants to feel that each is an island oasis of love for the other, driving them to heights of passion and personal transformation. But instead they feel like two losers who converge for a desperate evening and remain unchanged. The musical score, which is so strong, promises a classic story of love, like "Phantom of the Opera", but the characters fall far short.

The film's ending is abrupt, and it serves to undermine the theme of everlasting love.

I checked out this movie because of Demy's earlier works, Lola (1961), The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964), and The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967), all of which I found charming and interesting. Demy has an unmistakable visual sense and makes expressive use of vivid color imagery. All of those films also had playful plot lines that did not always follow logic, order, or even reason. Instead a whimsical, airy feeling often permeated the films.

So, I do not expect, nor demand, that movies have precise plots that always follow order, but Une Chambre really tests that to the limit. The actions of the characters are mystifyingly foolish, as if they were undertaken by five-year-olds, with zero understanding of human emotions or consequences of action. Timelines are compressed beyond belief. This movie makes TV soap operas seem logical, rational, and reasonable! I found myself asking: did that character really do that? Did she really believe that would happen? On what planet might that actually take place.

On the plus side, the singing of dialog was interesting (and was used in his earlier films). The visual style was still strong. However, unless you are a film buff who requires to see all of a director's work, I'd suggest passing on this one. A rating of 6 might be generous, and I wrestled with giving it a 5, but I did like his other films.

I always love Demy, except the one discussing the pregnancy of a male-so called a comedy.. Bias, of course. He always give you classical fairy tales which takes you away from your real world. Then you are carried into another space, and you can fully focus on what you are watching. Please don't pause his movies or you'll definitely find them dull and boring! For me, his music strengthens the story. Females are all beautiful princesses or queens. immersed in love, in a way.. Catherine Denver is, of course, his perfect princess. In fact, no one is bad. Many hate his Donkey Skin but that's it's close to Plato's idea/ideal. Most important of all, his protest of war is so subtle that it goes deep down without any noticing...

Workers during a strike prepare and perform a demonstration, and two personal relations develop against this background. François (Richard Berry) abandons his pregnant girlfriend Violette (Fabienne Guyon, appropriately dressed in violet), and meets a very beautiful upper class girl, Edith (Dominique Sanda).

This was my first experience with Jacques Demy, and I was immediately smitten. The backdrop recalls something like "Les Miserables", based on Demy's own witnessing of a shipyard strike, though the focus here is much more on the love triangle, and Francois Guilbard is not the tragic character that Jean Valjean is (in fact, Francois is kind of a rat).

Musicals are not my favorite genre, but I think this was done right... every line sounds amazing, and it works to have it done without any speaking. The dark themes even hark back to classic operas more than the saccharine musicals of modern Hollywood. Where the plot may be less than perfect, it is made up for by the mere presence of such striking and talented actors.

Unfortunately for Demy, many consider his best years 1961-1967, with the exception of "Donkey Skin" (1970) and completely disregard this film. Despite being nominated for nine Cesars (basically the French Oscars), it won none of them.