Sweet and light, this homage to French vaudeville -- and Francophilia in general -- is pretty, but its air of nostalgia occasionally borders on the saccharine.
Sweet and light, this homage to French vaudeville -- and Francophilia in general -- is pretty, but its air of nostalgia occasionally borders on the saccharine.
A star is born in a time of both celebration and instability in this historical drama with music from director Christophe Barratier. 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, Léon Blum, has been voted into power, and organized labor is feeling its new power by standing up to management. While such matters might normally seem unimportant to Germain Pigoil (Gérard Jugnot), 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 (Elisabeth Vitali), has run off with her lover, she demands custody of their son, Jojo (Maxence Perrin), and unscrupulous local entrepreneur Galapiat (Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu) threatens to put Germain's theater out of business. With the help of a local political organizer, Milou (Clovis Cornillac), and veteran entertainer Jacky Jacquet (Kad Merad), Germain strikes a deal with Galapiat to reopen the theater, but business is slow until a lovely young woman with a remarkable voice, Douce (Nora Arnezeder), comes looking for a spot in Germain's show. Faubourg 36 (aka Paris 36) received its North American premiere at the 2008 Montreal World Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
Somehow its value is never communicated to the audience in a felt way. Or maybe that's simply the crucial aspect of Paris 36 that didn't make it safely across the Atlantic.
It is a musical comedy/drama set in another time and place that asks you to give yourself over... If you're willing to play along the result is magnifique.
It's clearly old-fashioned entertainment, and while the blue-hairs will dig it, I suspect many of us with brown, blonde, black or red hair will embrace it as well.
Those who like their movies (a) cute and (b) in French will go oui, oui, oui all the way home after spending 120 minutes with this rose-tinted homage to the neighborhood music halls of France...
Oniric fantasy set in 1936 Paris. Costume design, cinematography and music are top-notch. Borrows themes from "Cinema Paradiso" and "Moulin Rouge!" and is indelibly and undeniably influenced by THE French film of the last 20 years, "Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain".
FAUBOURG 36, or Paris 36 (as it's known outside
of France), is evidently clichéd, but beautiful nonetheless. Gérard Jugnot, Clovis Cornillac, Kad Merad and Nora Arzeneder are outstanding in the four most prominent roles in the Christophe Barratier (Les Choristes)-directed film.
The rushed, and unnecessarily tragic ending is a dark spot on an otherwise bright film.
Simply delightful! The relationships are so multi-faceted and uplifting: Pigoil and JoJo (estranged father and son), Pigoil and Milou (resentful friends), Milou and Douce (distanced lovers), Galapiat and Douce (tyrannic benefactor and unwilling protege). Smaller parts like Radio Man and Jacky provide the glue that
holds the Chansonia together.Everyone has their falls from grace and their subsequent redemptions. The music is perky fun, and the frame story starts and stops at reasonable places. It's just a nice, happy movie :~)
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