Paris 36 (2008)

When i heard that the director from " Les Choristes" was releasing a new movie i thought it was a must see. And i was definitely right! the music is very good, the photography and the costumes are excellent and the actors too.Nora Arnezeder came as a big surprise to me, this unknown girl who has such a great voice, she was very good, and, of course, Gerard Jugnot, the great Monsieur Mathieu from " Les Choristes" was amazing again. The thing i most liked about the movie is that it keeps you entertained from beginning to end, you really want to keep watching and you never get bored. The songs take you to the 1930's as well as the scenarios.This movie is beautiful and definitely must be watched, it will definitely entertain you and you will enjoy good french cinema.

This movie was a surprising little gem. I knew nothing about it and went with some friends yesterday on a whim. It was beautifully photographed and the rendition of 1936 Paris seemed quite authentic. The costumes were exquisite, the story is engaging, and of all the characters were genuine. The scenes in the theater left me smelling the greasepaint I think this movie captured me because I was once heavily involved in local, amateur theater where we knocked ourselves out putting on shows just for the fun of it. I could identify with these characters struggling to eke out a living and dreaming of fame and success. The contrast of such joyous activities and the hopes of Pigoil, Douce and Jacky, amongst others against those dark times in Europe gives this movie a wonderful, entertaining balance. It is well worth seeing.

I loved it! Boz Luhrmann meets Cinema Paradiso in numerous ways. The plot is simple, as others here have already described. But it retains an abundance of charm. The undercurrents of antisemitism and fascism that were persistent in 1936 France are themes rarely seen on screen. Ditto for the Communist workers' movement during the same time. The clashes between these two groups were inevitable, and this film depicts that struggle brilliantly, without preaching to us or hitting us over the head with it. All the acting, singing and dancing are extremely well-done, and the cinematography, while Luhrmann-esquire is engaging. Best of all perhaps is the music. This film is destined to be a classic, and will always be on my favorites list. The only thing I would change is that I would retain the original title. The audience for this film is sophisticated enough to handle it.

Imagine you've got a hard-on for thirties Hollywood - Fred, Ginger, the Golddiggers, Bill Powell, Myrna Loy, Frank Capra, Carole Lombard, Jean Arthur, Screwball Comedy, Katie Hepburn etc - and you check out your local Multiplex and damned if someone hasn't turned out a perfect pastiche. Alas, you'll have to make do with imagination because, let's face it, you just can't get the staff; no one currently writing and/or directing out of Hollywood has the affection, empathy, love and let's call a spade a spade, Respect for yesterday. This is not to say that Clint Eastwood, for example is a bad director, far from it, but he's not interested in that kind of stuff and there's no reason he should be. If, on the other hand your hard-on is for French films of the thirties, if in other words you lapse into drool mode at the mention of Arletty, Gabin, Prevert, Carne, Duvivier, Darrieux, Carette, Dalio, Raimu, Qai des Brumes, Hotel du Nord, Spaak, Jeanson, Aurenche et al then, mon amis, you have just died and gone to heaven, Hog Heaven yet because four years after his international hit Les Choristes, Christophe Barratier has come up with a Faberge egg of a movie that evokes all that's best about the era. The plot - a Music Hall is forced to close and the employees decide to run it themselves - is a nod to Prevert's Le Crime de Monsier Lange when it was a publishing house that got made over and indeed the Popular Front (in which Prevert was active) is very much in evidence. Gerard Jugnot is excellent as is Pierre Richard and Clovis Cornillac is be-capped a la Gabin albeit light years away from him in talent and charisma. Did I say there were songs as well? You better believe it. All in all a gem.