The Young Girls Of Rochefort -1967- Criterion -... [hot] Jun 2026

It is a film that balances, as noted in the Criterion essay, a "sense of yearning and loss" with a "delerious state of being," making it a deeply emotional experience disguised as a lighthearted musical 1.2.1. Conclusion

Demy had already shattered hearts with The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964), a sung-through tragedy where every note seemed rain-soaked. With Rochefort , he reversed the formula. Here, dialogue scenes are spoken, and songs erupt as joyous, diegetic interruptions—from street pianos to carnival stages. The plot, a carousel of missed connections, follows twin sisters (Deneuve and real-life sister Françoise Dorléac, in her final screen role) who dream of leaving their sleepy Atlantic port town for Paris. Meanwhile, a murder subplot (yes, a murder), a sailor on leave, and a visiting American composer named Andy (Gene Kelly, dancing like a god) all converge in a series of near-misses. The Young Girls of Rochefort -1967- Criterion -...

The plot weaves together the lives of twin sisters, Solange and Delphine Garnier (played by real-life sisters Françoise Dorléac and Catherine Deneuve). They teach piano and dance, respectively, but dream of finding success and true love in Paris. Around them orbits a kaleidoscope of characters: a charming fairground worker (George Chakiris), an American composer passing through (Gene Kelly), a lovelorn shopkeeper (Michel Piccoli), and a mysterious murderer subplot that adds a jarring, almost Hitchcockian tension to the whimsy. It is a film that balances, as noted

Visually, the film is an explosion of pastel pinks, soft blues, and bright yellows. Demy and his production crew repainted hundreds of shutters and facades across the actual town of Rochefort to turn the real-world location into an idealized, dreamlike stage. Here, dialogue scenes are spoken, and songs erupt

The music by Michel Legrand is nothing short of iconic. The main theme, with its distinctive clavichord hook, is one of the most recognizable melodies in French cinema history. The songs drive the narrative forward, expressing a longing for "the ideal man" or the excitement of "the fair." The choreography, led by Norman Maen, is robust and athletic, utilizing the open spaces of the town square and the traveling fair in a way that feels distinctly un-theatrical yet entirely staged. It captures the 1960s optimism where pop art and jazz collided.