French Cancan

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Matthew B The 1950s saw a welcome return to France for Jean Renoir. During the 1930s he had made his best movies, including The Rules of the Game and The Grand Illusion. Who would have thought that Renoir's return to his homeland would mark yet another change in style? While Renoir's movies in the 1930s laid their focus on political and social commentary, his 1950s films were more in the way of escapist fun. Renoir made a trilogy of vibrant musical comedies, The Golden Coach (1953), French Cancan (1955), and Elena and Her Men (1956). Always the warmest of directors, Renoir here put the emphasis on colour, humour and entertainment. The sets are very detailed, full of movement and colour, with activity filling the screen. They look more like paintings than real lived-in buildings. Even the slums or a construction site look pretty here. This creates the appearance that the whole film seems as if it is taking place on a stage. Nonetheless Renoir avoided sticking too closely to clichés. There is a love story, but it involves a series of interlocking love triangles, rather than a conventional romance. The affairs are never clearly resolved, and they seem less important than the task of putting on a show for the public. On one level French Cancan follows the trope of putting on a performance and fighting adversity to get the show made, but here it is more of an occupational hazard rather than some special event in the lives of the performers. If this was an uncharacteristic style for Renoir up to this point, then what about the leading star in French Cancan? Jean Gabin had made his reputation playing gangsters. Here the rough-hewed actor was playing Henri Danglard, a nightclub owner and entertainer, who founded the Moulin Rouge, at least in this fictional version of events. Danglard is unfaithful, but no more so than the women in his life. Indeed Danglard is perfectly happy use his women as romantic or sexual bait for his financial backers, and the women are willing to cooperate because they want the club to succeed too. The only fidelity that Danglard, Lola and Nini maintain is to the world of art and entertainment. They love a variety of people, but they are always together for the show, and this is more important. Danglard has his affairs, but his philandering might almost be seen as a form of talent-spotting for his nightclub. What does he see in Nini? "Everything and nothing. She dances like a goddess. That's all." The ability to dance or sing matters more to him than personality or good looks. When he arouses Nini's jealousy by gazing admiringly at another performer it is only because she sings so well. Is it worth it? All our doubts must disappear when we see the show. The singing by various French performers, including Édith Piaf has that Gallic charm that is so distinctive to France. The dancing is amazing, a remarkable display of eye-watering splits and gymnastic leg-kicking. The other characters watch the final dance, and all doubts and hostility melts away as they enjoy themselves. Danglard sits back stage, relaxing and enjoying a quiet moment to celebrate the work that he has done. Nini smiles radiant and triumphant. Is it worth the sacrifices and losses, and the unstable and transitory life of a performer? With this ending, Renoir emphatically says: Yes, it is! I wrote a longer appreciation of French Cancan on my blog page if you would like to read more: https://themoviescreenscene.wordpress.com/2022/03/11/french-cancan-1954/ Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 08/24/23 Full Review s r A beautiful French classic. A true insight to French culture. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member FRENCH CANCAN is a highly pleasurable extravaganza of Gallo musical and comedy from the cinematic titan Jean Renoir, placed within his marvellous oeuvre, the film doesn’t have a chance to be a standout, but compared with its follow-up ELENA AND HER MEN (1956, 5/10), Renoir’s star-vehicle for Ingrid Bergman, this film stuns in its spectacular scenic management of its pay-off moment, the much anticipated French cancan performance, which transpires to be a truly sensational delight and a sumptuous visual spectacle. continue reading my review: http://wp.me/p1eXom-1Lg Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/05/23 Full Review Audience Member French Cancan isn't the best of Jean Renoir's movies, but it might be the most fun. It's a Technicolor musical spectacular featuring one of the best dance sequences in film history, and it also has distinctively wry French humor that makes it an amusing film to watch. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/20/23 Full Review Audience Member M. Renoir's affectionate picture hasn't quite the class of Huston's Moulin Rouge. But it makes for diverting entertainment as sheer sentimental spectacle. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/21/23 Full Review Audience Member this is lots of fun and better than huston's 'moulin rouge' imo. how wonderful to see the fierce maria felix in such a high profile role outside of mexico. it's a little unbelievable that the aging jean gabin still gets all the girls. and he didn't need to be such a bastard about it either Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/09/23 Full Review Read all reviews

French Cancan

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