Although eternally eclipsed by The Umbrellas Of Cherbourg (1964), Jacques Demy’s second collaboration with musician Michel Legrand still succeeds in being both an homage to the Hollywood musical and a candy-coloured slice of Nouvelle Vague subversion.
The narrative focus falls on sisters Catherine Deneuve and Françoise Dorléac, but Demy is just as intrigued by the lives being lived outside the window of their mother’s small-town café. Consequently, extras are just as likely to break into a dance as American stars George Chakiris and Gene Kelly, a spontaneity reinforced by the fact that the songs spring directly from the dialogue.