Les Demoiselles de Rochefort
Encyclopedia
The Young Girls of Rochefort is a 1967 French musical film directed by Jacques Demy
, starring Catherine Deneuve
, her sister Françoise Dorléac
, Jacques Perrin
, Michel Piccoli, Danielle Darrieux
, George Chakiris
, Grover Dale
and Gene Kelly
. The choreography was by Norman Maen
.
Michel Legrand
composed the score. The most famous songs from this film score, which is generally less acclaimed than that for The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, are "A Pair of Twins" ("Chanson des Jumelles" in French) and "You Must Believe in Spring
" ("Chanson de Maxence"). The film was nominated for Academy Awards
for Best Music and Score of a Musical Picture (Original or Adaptation). The film was also another big success for Demy in France with a total of 1,319,432 admissions.
, where a fair is coming to the town square. The story centers on twin sisters Delphine (Deneuve) and Solange (Dorléac) — Delphine teaches ballet classes and Solange gives music lessons for a living, but each longs to find her ideal love and a life outside of Rochefort. When the fair comes to town, Delphine and Solange meet two smooth-talking but kind-hearted carnies Étienne (George Chakiris
) and Bill (Grover Dale
).
The twins' mother Yvonne (Danielle Darrieux) owns a cafe in the center of town, and pines for a fiance she left impulsively ten years prior due to his embarrassing last name of "Dame." Yvonne's cafe become a central hub for Étienne and Bill and well as most of the other characters in the film. In the cafe, Yvonne meets a sailor about to be demobbed from the navy, Maxence (Jacques Perrin
). Maxence is a poet and painter, and is searching for his true feminine ideal. Little does Yvonne know, her former fiance, Simon Dame (Michel Piccoli), has recently opened a music store in Rochefort. He knows his fiance had twins from a previous relationship, but he never met them. Solange, an aspiring songwriter, enlists the help of Simon Dame (she is unaware of his relationship with her mother), who promises to introduce her to his successful American colleague Andy (Gene Kelly
). As Solange is on her way to pick up her younger brother BouBou from school, she happens to bump into a charming foreigner, who turns out to be Andy Miller. However, the two do not exchange names.
Meanwhile, Delphine is unhappy in her relationship with the egotistical gallery owner Guillaume (Jacques Riberolles), so she ends the relationship. In the gallery, as she is about to leave, Delphine notices a painting that looks remarkably like her. The image was in fact painted by Maxence, as an image of his feminine ideal, but Guillaume does not reveal this to Delphine. Back in the square, the two female dancers in Etienne and Bill's show run off with sailors, so they ask Delphine and Solange to perform, offering them a free ride to Paris in return. On the day of the fair, the paths of all of the characters cross again at the town square and in Yvonne's cafe.
Jacques Demy
Jacques Demy was one of the most approachable filmmakers to appear in the wake of the French New Wave. Uninterested in the formal experimentation of Alain Resnais, or the political agitation of Jean-Luc Godard, Demy instead created a self-contained fantasy world closer to that of François...
, starring Catherine Deneuve
Catherine Deneuve
Catherine Deneuve is a French actress. She gained recognition for her portrayal of aloof and mysterious beauties in films such as Repulsion and Belle de jour . Deneuve was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress in 1993 for her performance in Indochine; she also won César Awards for that...
, her sister Françoise Dorléac
Françoise Dorléac
Françoise Dorléac was a French actress. Born in Paris, she was the daughter of screen actor Maurice Dorléac and Renée Deneuve, and was the elder sister of Catherine Deneuve. The two sisters starred together in the 1967 musical, The Young Girls of Rochefort...
, Jacques Perrin
Jacques Perrin
Jacques Perrin is a French actor and filmmaker. He is occasionally credited as Jacques Simonet. Simonet was his father's name and Perrin his mother's.-Life and career:...
, Michel Piccoli, Danielle Darrieux
Danielle Darrieux
Danielle Yvonne Marie Antoinette Darrieux is a French actress and singer, who has appeared in more than 110 films since 1931. She is one of France's great movie stars and her eight-decade career is among the longest in film history....
, George Chakiris
George Chakiris
George Chakiris is an American-Greek dancer, singer and actor.-Early life:Chakiris was born in Norwood, Ohio, to Steven and Zoe Chakiris, immigrants from Greece. Chakiris studied at the American School of Dance....
, Grover Dale
Grover Dale
Grover Dale is an American actor, dancer, choreographer and theatre director.-Early years:Dale was born Grover Robert Aitken in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to Ronal Rittenhouse Aitken, a restaurateur, and Emma Bertha Ammon...
and Gene Kelly
Gene Kelly
Eugene Curran "Gene" Kelly was an American dancer, actor, singer, film director and producer, and choreographer...
. The choreography was by Norman Maen
Norman Maen
-Personal life:Maen was born in Ballymena, Northern Ireland and began his career working as a dancer in an Irish dance group. He qualified as a teacher after successfully completing his studies at Ballymena Academy and Stranmillis College, Belfast.-Career:...
.
Michel Legrand
Michel Legrand
Michel Jean Legrand is a French musical composer, arranger, conductor, and pianist...
composed the score. The most famous songs from this film score, which is generally less acclaimed than that for The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, are "A Pair of Twins" ("Chanson des Jumelles" in French) and "You Must Believe in Spring
You Must Believe in Spring
You Must Believe in Spring is the title of an album by jazz pianist Bill Evans, recorded by Evans, bassist Eddie Gomez, and drummer Eliot Zigmund in August 1977 and released after Evans' death in September 1980. It was Evans's last recording sessions done with Gomez on bass, who left after eleven...
" ("Chanson de Maxence"). The film was nominated for Academy Awards
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
for Best Music and Score of a Musical Picture (Original or Adaptation). The film was also another big success for Demy in France with a total of 1,319,432 admissions.
Plot
The Young Girls of Rochefort takes place over the course of one weekend in the seaside town of RochefortRochefort, Charente-Maritime
Rochefort is a commune in southwestern France, a port on the Charente estuary. It is a sub-prefecture of the Charente-Maritime department.-History:...
, where a fair is coming to the town square. The story centers on twin sisters Delphine (Deneuve) and Solange (Dorléac) — Delphine teaches ballet classes and Solange gives music lessons for a living, but each longs to find her ideal love and a life outside of Rochefort. When the fair comes to town, Delphine and Solange meet two smooth-talking but kind-hearted carnies Étienne (George Chakiris
George Chakiris
George Chakiris is an American-Greek dancer, singer and actor.-Early life:Chakiris was born in Norwood, Ohio, to Steven and Zoe Chakiris, immigrants from Greece. Chakiris studied at the American School of Dance....
) and Bill (Grover Dale
Grover Dale
Grover Dale is an American actor, dancer, choreographer and theatre director.-Early years:Dale was born Grover Robert Aitken in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to Ronal Rittenhouse Aitken, a restaurateur, and Emma Bertha Ammon...
).
The twins' mother Yvonne (Danielle Darrieux) owns a cafe in the center of town, and pines for a fiance she left impulsively ten years prior due to his embarrassing last name of "Dame." Yvonne's cafe become a central hub for Étienne and Bill and well as most of the other characters in the film. In the cafe, Yvonne meets a sailor about to be demobbed from the navy, Maxence (Jacques Perrin
Jacques Perrin
Jacques Perrin is a French actor and filmmaker. He is occasionally credited as Jacques Simonet. Simonet was his father's name and Perrin his mother's.-Life and career:...
). Maxence is a poet and painter, and is searching for his true feminine ideal. Little does Yvonne know, her former fiance, Simon Dame (Michel Piccoli), has recently opened a music store in Rochefort. He knows his fiance had twins from a previous relationship, but he never met them. Solange, an aspiring songwriter, enlists the help of Simon Dame (she is unaware of his relationship with her mother), who promises to introduce her to his successful American colleague Andy (Gene Kelly
Gene Kelly
Eugene Curran "Gene" Kelly was an American dancer, actor, singer, film director and producer, and choreographer...
). As Solange is on her way to pick up her younger brother BouBou from school, she happens to bump into a charming foreigner, who turns out to be Andy Miller. However, the two do not exchange names.
Meanwhile, Delphine is unhappy in her relationship with the egotistical gallery owner Guillaume (Jacques Riberolles), so she ends the relationship. In the gallery, as she is about to leave, Delphine notices a painting that looks remarkably like her. The image was in fact painted by Maxence, as an image of his feminine ideal, but Guillaume does not reveal this to Delphine. Back in the square, the two female dancers in Etienne and Bill's show run off with sailors, so they ask Delphine and Solange to perform, offering them a free ride to Paris in return. On the day of the fair, the paths of all of the characters cross again at the town square and in Yvonne's cafe.