If there’s one thing that characterizes the career of director Jacques Demy (1931-1990), it’s that he enjoyed working with the same people throughout his entire career. It all started in the early 50s when he worked as an assistant for the influential animator Paul Grimault. Even when Demy was already a well-known director, he continued to collaborate with Grimault, which culminated in 1988 with an animated/live action film co-written and co-directed by the two.
The film features actress Anouk Aimée, who also played the lead role in Demy’s first film Lola, where she portrays the iconic cabaret dancer of the same name. He also frequently worked with Catherine Deneuve. As in his most acclaimed film: Les parapluies de Cherbourg from 1964. In this entirely sung drama about the decline of a great love, she plays the umbrella seller Geneviève. The film was the breakthrough for the then-unknown Deneuve. She also stars in the musical Les Demoiselles de Rochefort (1967) and the musical fairy tale Peau d’âne (1970).
The most intimate collaboration was undoubtedly with composer Michel Legrand, who was responsible for the music in ten of Demy’s films. Sometimes for ‘regular’ film music, as in the drama La baie des anges (1963) carried by Jeanne Moreau, sometimes for the unforgettable songs in Demy’s musicals.
Demy’s work is often mentioned in the same breath as that of directors like Jean-Luc Godard, François Truffaut, and Robert Bresson, in other words, with the films of the nouvelle vague. And not without reason: Demy shared the basic principles of the movement. He wrote all his films himself, all his films are made in a very recognizable style. In short: he is also an auteur filmmaker. But there are also significant differences. While Godard, for example, had a preference in the 60s for raw, realistic, documentary-like stories, often told in black-and-white, Demy had a great love for color, fantasy, and romance, often with a touch of melancholy. He paid tribute in several films to the visual splendor of the classic Hollywood musical. And he did it with flair!
Those who want to see this with their own eyes can visit Rialto starting August 27, where the five films mentioned above will be shown in all their (restored) glory.
