In the spring of 1936, Paris is in a state of uncertainty while the rise of the Third Reich in Germany worries many. A leftist union-oriented candidate, Leon Blum, has been voted into power and organised labour is feeling its new power by standing up to the management. While such matters normally seem unimportant to Germain Pigoil, who runs a small vaudeville house in the Faubourg district, the chaos of the city seems to be impacting his life and his work - his wife, Viviane has run off with her lover, she demands custody of their son, Jojo, and unscrupulous local entrepreneur Galapiat threatens to put Germain's theater out of business.
What I loved most: The effervescent cast especially Gerard Jugnot
What I really hated: Been there, done that storyline
Time to read my FABULOUS review...although and unfortunately my review for Paris 36 is less than fabulous. Why, you may ask? Well, the director does a wonderful job capturing the marvelous spirit of gay Paris and its entertainment venues in the 30s and especially the accordian (!) and boy, was there lots of accordian music in this movie! Having said that, however, you can't escape the feeling that you have seen it all before. I can't really put a finger on it. It's just that the movie doesn't really leave you truly satisfied...like a well cooked meal, for instance. And again, it's no fault of ze inspired performances by its wonderful cast. But I must take my hat off to Monsieur Gerard Jugnot who is ze heart and soul of this movie. His totally heart rending performance of a dejected man who not only loses his theatre but also his son to his ex-wife while jobless is worth the admission ticket. He will stir your soul with a tired defeated look or a whimsical smile. Let's hope we will get to see this wonderful actor in more french movies to come...
The titular 36 refers to the year in which this delightful little pre-WWII musical was set, when a rundown theatre hall takes centrestage as love stories and political games play themselves out to complete audience satisfaction. If you thought director Christophe Barratier's "Les Choristes" ("The Chorus") in 2004 was great, then this followup is no short of absolutely grand.
Garnering fair attention at the Cesars this year, "Paris 36" ("Faubourg 36" to the French) is whimsical as much as musical. It's one of those full-package movies like "La Vita E Bella", the sort that takes you through a spectrum of emotions and leave you hanging onto the cinema curtains when the end credits roll. We follow stage manager Pigoil (Gerard Jugnot), a dejected man with a cheating wife, who loses his son Jojo (Maxence Perrin) to the family affairs authorities after the fascist, kingpin landlord Galapiat (Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu) shuts down his beloved Chansonia. Not about to throw in the towel, he tries to revive the establishment with bumbling sound impersonator Jacky (Kad Merad) and rabble-rousing firebrand Milou (Clovis Cornillac) as they go against all odds to make something out of their lives. Entering into all their lives unannounced is a bright, beautiful aspiring singer named Douce (Nora Arnezeder) and we get a glorious costume story in epic proportions.
Everybody pulls their weight as far as cast performance is concerned, so don't be fooled when you read that Arnezeder was Meilleur Espoir Feminin and La Revelation Feminine (that's Most Promising Young Actress and Best Female Newcomer to you and I) at the Lumiere and Étoiles d'Or in France this year. She is simply dazzling as the ideals-laden ingenue who dreams of the moon on a stick, sashaying back and forth in the movie like an object that's always out of your reach.
"Paris 36" is not an important movie that must be made, like say Édith Piaf biopic "La Vie En Rose" but it sure is a tidy effort that celebrates cinema, entertainment and the performing arts.
Critic Roger Ebert has said that this is a movie that he would absolutely adore if he watched it before he was born, noting that the movie lacks "a certain energy". Well, he may not be too far off the mark but as far as musicals are concerned, we have French cinema to thank for giving us some accordian music every now and then.
