Les demoiselles de Rochefort
Two sisters leave their small seaside town of Rochefort in search of romance. Hired as carnival singers, one falls for an American musician, while the other must search for her ideal partner... Read allTwo sisters leave their small seaside town of Rochefort in search of romance. Hired as carnival singers, one falls for an American musician, while the other must search for her ideal partner.Two sisters leave their small seaside town of Rochefort in search of romance. Hired as carnival singers, one falls for an American musician, while the other must search for her ideal partner.
- Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 2 nominations total
- Solange Garnier
- (as Françoise Dorleac)
- Subtil Dutrouz
- (as Henri Cremieux)
- Pépé
- (as René Bazart)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
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Or perhaps "artificial" is a better word - Demy's always straightforward about what he's doing, and the play of artifice in "Rochefort" is one of its peculiar charms. He doesn't seem to care that the gorgeous Catherine Deneuve and her real-life sister, Francoise Dorleac, aren't really dancers (or that even the "real" dancers are sometimes slightly out of sync) - they simply carry on with their numbers through sheer star power and happy sang-froid. As do their characters - what might count as tragedy in an American musical is always merely accepted in Demy ("The Umbrellas of Cherbourg" being the ultimate example). Only "Rochefort" is about tragedies constantly being averted or diverted - if "Umbrellas" was drenched in a perpetual rain shower, "Rochefort" is pure sun.
Gene Kelly is also on hand to do a few cameos as Francoise's love interest - and his main dance is a charming, quick-time take on what he used to do on a much broader canvas. George Chakiris is, as we remember from "West Side Story", a charming dynamo; Danielle Darrieux is her usual sublime self; and keep an eye out for a young Michel Piccoli as the ardent Monsieur Dam. Michel Legrand's score, again as usual, relies a bit too heavily on its big theme - but it's also about as jazzily sophisticated as musical scores ever got. The choreography doesn't offer any breakthroughs, but there are some charming sequences which are nearly as through-danced as "Umbrellas" was through-sung.
Altogether a charmer - big wigs, even bigger hats, and an exquisite pastel palette - what's not to like?
The soundtrack is currently available on a fantastic new 2-CD set that replaces the long out-of-print 2 LP set, and includes the song "A Pair of Twins" in English! The LP, though, with its booklet and liner notes and pictures is a tough act to follow. Ah well.
I wish this movie would come out on DVD with both versions and greet a whole new generation of fans. Here's hoping this will happen within our lifetimes, while some of us are still young.
The Young Girls of Rochefort was an ambitious effort that paid off very generously in artistic terms but it was not as great a success in the box-office as Demy's previous "Umbrellas of Cherbourg". The score in "Rochefort" is sometimes a little repetitive but the soundtrack to me is the best one ever for a musical....or at least a French musical.
Demy is a cinema artist who always verged in the precious (in my opinion he rarely toppled over), and this may cause trouble for some. His "Umbrellas of Cherbourg" has always seemed to me a heavy-handed, repetitive, sentimental downer; "Young Girls" is very nearly its polar opposite. (Demy's wife, the wonderful filmmaker Agnes Varda, has overseen the reconstruction of this classic, and we owe her quite a debt!) Michel Legrand's music here is full of jazzy, astonishing riffs and lots of melody. Accompanying it are some delightful lyrics that are translated fittingly--if not precisely--into equally delightful English. Catherine Deneuve and her late sister Francoise Dorleac are wonderful in the title roles, and they're helped immensely by the likes of Danielle Darrieux, George Chakiris, Grover Dale, Gene Kelly (yes, an American in Rochefort!), Michel Piccoli and a young and exquisitely beautiful Jacques Perrin. The dancing is a joy, as well, as you'd expect from a film that offers Chakiris, Dale and Kelly. Characters sing of their lives and lost loves, and everything--from the pastel-painted city to the gorgeously coordinated costumes--is as unbelievable yet as wonderful as an enchanted dream.
I remember enjoying the film when it first appeared. Now, it seems not only of its time but ahead of that time and so special and perfect that I suspect certain of us will want to revisit it every few years, for as many as we have left. In a word: transporting.
Did you know
- TriviaDanielle Darrieux is the only actor who actually sings for herself.
- GoofsNobody seen playing piano (or any instrument for that matter) in this movie actually plays it correctly.
- Quotes
Delphine, Solange: [singing] We are a pair of twins born in the sign of Gemini, Mi fa so la mi re, Re mifa so so so re do, We're two demoiselles who took to the boys long ago, Mi fa so la mi re, Re mifa so so so re do.
Delphine: Our mama brought us up on her own, Working herself all her life to the bone.
Solange: To make sure our minds could expand, She's spent all her time behind a French-fry stand.
Delphine, Solange: Papa was somebody that we never knew, But when we undress one thing is true, In the small of our backs - in the very same place.
Delphine: There's the same beauty spot
Solange: He had on his face...
Delphine, Solange: We are a pair of twins born in the sign of Gemini, Mi fa so la mi re, Re mifa so so so re do, Who love catchy tunes, silly puns and repartee, Mi fa so la mi re, Re mifa so so so re do...
- Alternate versionsEach musical number was filmed twice, both in French and English, to make a French and an International version. However, in the International version, scenes with dialogues were only redubbed in English but not reshot. The International version has never been released physically.
- ConnectionsEdited into Il était une fois Michel Legrand (2024)
- SoundtracksChanson des Jumelles
Music by Michel Legrand
Lyrics by Jacques Demy
Performed by Anne Germain and Claude Parent
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- The Young Girls of Rochefort
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $91,837
- Gross worldwide
- $100,391
- Runtime
- 2h(120 min)
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1