A radiant, expertly crafted musical, The Young Girls of Rochefort is both escapist delight and emotionally astute cinema. Demy’s film remains a high-water mark for the form: a sunny, bittersweet celebration of the small wonders that push people toward love.
If you’d like, I can expand this into a longer essay, a scene-by-scene analysis, or a piece focused on Legrand’s score or Demy’s visual style. Which would you prefer? The Young Girls of Rochefort -1967- Criterion -...
No discussion of Rochefort is complete without the elephant in the soundstage: Gene Kelly. A radiant, expertly crafted musical, The Young Girls
By 1967, Kelly’s star in Hollywood had waned. Demy, an obsessive fan of Singin’ in the Rain, wrote a role specifically for him: Andy, the American composer passing through Rochefort. Kelly, fluent in French, performs his own dubbing and choreographs his own solo number. No discussion of Rochefort is complete without the
Watching Kelly—then 55 years old—tap dance through a French square while wooing a French waitress is surreal and joyful. The Criterion transfer captures the sweat and effort of his dance; you see the master at work, not a digitized ghost. It acts as a bridge between MGM’s golden era and the European art film, a handshake between Hollywood and the Left Bank.
Unlike Umbrellas, where every line of dialogue is sung, Rochefort features a mix of spoken dialogue and musical numbers. The legendary composer Michel Legrand provides the score, which is jazzy, infectious, and unforgettable. Tracks like "You Must Believe in Spring" and the spirited main theme are staples of the French pop canon.
Visually, Demy and cinematographer Ghislain Cloquet transformed Rochefort. Much like the painted streets of Cherbourg, the production design is highly stylized. Shop fronts, buses, and walls were painted in bold primary colors to match the costumes, creating a hyper-real, storybook world. The Criterion restoration captures these pastel blues, pinks, and yellows with breathtaking vibrancy.