French Cancan (1956)

Jean Renoir's gorgeous film, French Cancan, is a symphony of color, dancing, singing, and humor.It stars Jean Gabin as Henri Danglard, a club owner who is hitting the skids with his café "Le Paravent Chinois" which features his mistress, Lola, played by the legendary, mega Mexican star, "La Dona," Maria Felix.Danglard has an idea of reviving the cancan, which he has seen on the Montmarte. In 1890, it is considered an old dance, but he renames it French cancan and decides to have it in a fabulous new club, the Moulin Rouge.He becomes interested in a young laundress, Nini, who impresses him with her dancing one night when he dances with her. He wants to star her in his new show.This is easier said than done. There's jealous Lola and Nini's baker boyfriend, and a prince who falls for her. While they tug at her heart, Nini has fallen for Danglard.This is a fun movie, and a chance for me, anyway, to see Maria Felix. I had only seen her interviewed when she was quite old, and a movie in my high school Spanish class. She was statuesque with a strong face and looks quite beautiful here, displaying sophistication and toughness.Gabin, of course, is wonderful - this is the first time I've seen him in anything but a depressing drama - he emanates charm.Great-looking film with the Renoir touches - so many scenes look like paintings. Highly recommended.

This movie of Jean Renoir (son of the impressionist painter) uses vibrant coloring to convey a similar impressionist effect, which is only half successful, seeing as the crisp focusing (understandable given the year of release) negates the other major impressionist characteristic, namely the visual haze that represents a unique moment in time. As a result, the scenes where the film really excels are the two scenes that feature big crowd movement: one during the building of Moulin Rouge (almost slapstick), and the other during the theatrical dance apotheosis of the end.Both of these sequences are visual feasts, whereas the "fuzziness" due to the massive choreography and relentless movement, combined with the intense coloring, conveys an elegant impressionist display.Visual characteristics aside, the film represents a continuous bittersweet shift between comedic and dramatic elements, as well as a constant parade of love triangles. The ending with the impresario enjoying the show in a melancholic manner in the background is one final touch of class. If you come across it, don't hesitate to watch it.

I am not a fan of musicals, but I am a huge fan of Jean Renoir and Jean Gabin. I rented this movie on a whim and was pleasantly surprised even expecting greatness from the classic director. This movie is BEAUTIFUL. The shots are like oil paintings with motion, something a lot of directors strive for but Renoir MASTERS. I cannot express how much this movie transcends itself... it's not really a musical, it just has a couple of well-placed musical numbers and a grand dancing finale. But there is something about this movie in particular which makes you feel absolute JOY when watching it.I am a fan of foreign art films, but I'm also a meathead who loves things like Die Hard and Schwarzenegger movies. I get very easily turned off by things that are overly happy or in "la la land," but this movie has an overwhelming positive energy that is just irresistible -- not to mention every frame is gorgeous and the plot is good. 10 out of 10.

Although it doesn't seem very promising for a long stretch, Renoir's French Cancan ends up being an effortlessly charming film. The story is cliché: a laundry girl, Nini (Françoise Arnoul), is discovered by a night club owner, Danglard (Jean Gabin). Danglard steals her from her baker boyfriend and drops his current girlfriend, both of whom come back for their former lovers. Nini has to choose whether to go back to her humble life with the baker, go on with the show with her employer, oh, or become a princess, as a prince falls in love with her at one point, too. I'm glad the film didn't go for the most obvious choice, as a lesser film certainly would have. The film ends with the opening of Danglard's new night club, the Moulin Rouge, and a couple of gorgeous song and dance numbers. The first of them, "Complainte de la Butte," which also provides the base of most of the film's musical score, is simply one of the most gorgeous songs ever written, and Renoir himself wrote it. If you're a fan of Baz Luhrmann's 2001 film Moulin Rouge!, you'll recognize the tune, as it comes up near the beginning of that film, sung by Rufus Wainwright. Although it isn't very prominent in that film, everyone I know who owns the soundtrack loves it. In addition to having one of the most lovely songs ever written, French Cancan also boasts one of the cutest leading ladies ever to grace the screen. It's hard not to fall head-over-heels in love with that girl. 8/10.