French Cancan (1955)

Directed by

Jean Renoir

Genre

musical film

Country

France, Italy

Runtime

1h 40m

Rating

7.2 of 10 from 107 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A showman in 19th century Paris revives a popular dance hall by recruiting a young laundress to perform the cancan. He builds a new troupe of singers and dancers, navigating rivalries and romances along the way.

celebratoryenergeticnostalgiclivelyvisually lushwarmplayfulromanticjoyful

What happens

French Cancan (also known as Only the French Can) is a 1955 musical comedy-drama film written and directed by Jean Renoir and starring Jean Gabin, Francoise Arnoul and María Félix. It marked Renoir's return to France and to French cinema after an exile that began in 1940. Where Renoir's previous film, The Golden Coach (1952), had celebrated the 18th-century Italian commedia dell'arte, this work is a homage to the Parisian café-concert of the 19th century, with its popular singers and dancers. Visually, the film evokes the paintings of Edgar Degas and the Impressionists, including Renoir's own father, Pierre-Auguste Renoir. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

More like this

• Can-Can (1960)
• Songs of Italy (1955)
• La dame de chez Maxim's (1950)
• Quatre jours à Paris (1955)
• Carousel of Variety (1955)
• Qué lindo Cha Cha Cha (1955)
• Casse-cou, mademoiselle! (1955)
• Bravissimo (1955)