Starring Catherine Denveuve, Jean Maris, Jacques Perrin, and Delphine Seyrig
Directed by Jacques Demy
Music by Michel Legrand; Lyrics by Jacques Demy
Jacques Demy's first two musicals The Umbrellas of Cherbourg and The Young Girls of Rochefort were huge international hits, but for his third musical, he went with something a little less prosaic. Having done a bleak drama in Hollywood that didn't go over well, he returned to France for a full-on fantasy. This adaptation of a Charles Perrault fairy tale went over far better in France, where it was one of the bigger hits of 1970. Does it retain the same magic today? Let's begin with the introduction of the Blue King (Maris), his lovely wife (Denveuve), and their beautiful and gentle daughter (Denveuve) and find out...
The Story: After his wife dies, the King is encouraged to find a new wife and produce an heir. The queen insisted that he marry someone even lovelier than her...and the only person he can find is his daughter. On the advice of her godmother the Lilac Fairy (Seyrig), she holds her father off by asking for dresses the color of a good weather day, the moon, and the sun. She then demands that he kill and skin the magical donkey who has been excreting jewels and coins for him. The Fairy gives the princess her wand and a trunk with the three gowns, then covers her in dirt and wraps her in the donkey skin.
Fleeing her father's kingdom in this disguise, she manages to find a job as a pig keeper and a little hut in the woods. The prince of the kingdom (Perrin) sees her in the hut and falls so much in love with her, he becomes literally lovesick. He begs that Donkey Skin be told to bake a cake that will restore his health. She bakes her ring into it, proving her love for him. All the women in the kingdom are called to see if the ring fits their finger. No one thinks it could fit Donkey Skin, but the prince has his suspicions...
The Song and Dance: Like Demy, I've always been fascinated by fairy tales. The original version of this story comes off as rather dour. After all, it does involve incest and death. Demy manages to make all this sweet, whimsical, and even playful. Perrin and Denveuve are a charming royal couple, and Seyrig is hilarious as the Lilac Fairy who has her own reasons for keeping the princess from marrying her father.
The production is nothing less than stunning, with the two kingdoms dressed in all cobalt blue and scarlet red. Even the faces of the couriers are blue and red. The costumes are acres of puffs, ruffles, and bows, with puffed sleeves that dwarfs the actors' heads. Gorgeous cinematography too. Real French castles and the actual French countryside glow like those incredible sun and moon gowns.
The Numbers: We open with "Amour, Amour" performed on the piano by the princess as we're introduced to her family, the blue kingdom, and the magical donkey. The Lilac Fairy explains why it's a bad idea for a princess to marry her father in "Conselis de la Fee des Lilas." Our first chorus number has the peasants throwing "Les Insultes" at Donkey Skin for being so dirty and different.
"Chanson du Prince" is the Prince's song when he sees her at the hut. The princess explains about her plan to put the ring in the cake in "Recette Pour un Cake D'Amour." The Prince and Princess dream of rebelling against their parents and being together in "Reves Secrets d'un Prince et d'une Princesse." The last number is also the second chorus routine. Every woman in town tries to make her finger slender enough to fit that ring in "Les Massage des Doights."
What I Don't Like: First of all, same deal as Demy's other movies. There's no dubbed version of this. If you don't speak French and aren't willing to use subtitles, you may have a hard time understanding a lot of what's going on. Second, while the incest subtext isn't pushed too hard, it is there. The original version of this story was a lot darker. In some versions (including the short "Sapsorrow" from Jim Henson's The Storyteller), the father dies in the end. Some details border on goofy for silliness' sake, like the Lilac Fairy and Blue King turning up in a very anachronistic helicopter in the end.
The Big Finale: Highly recommended for families with pre-teen princess lovers who are willing to read a few subtitles or those who love French cinema or who are big fairy tale fans like me.
Home Media: Only on disc in the US as part of a pricey Jacques Demy blu-ray set from the Criterion Collection. You may be better off streaming this one.
No comments:
Post a Comment