After "the pied piper" ,which was his last great movie,Demy's career became unfocused.There were only five movies between 1973 and 1990 (his death),none of which recalling his best works ("Lola" "les Parapluies de Cherbourg" "les Demoiselles De Rochefort" "The pied piper of Hamelin" and of course "Peau D'Ane".)
Like "Peau D'Ane ",this film is a tribute to Jean Cocteau:hence the presence of Jean Marais (Demy is the ONLY "Nouvelle Vague" director who cast the great actor in his works) who had made few movies since "Peau D'Ane" (1970).Like the precedent user mentioned ,Demy updated Cocteau's "Orphée ,but this myth was often filmed :actually some scenes reminds me more of Marcel Camus's "Orfeo Negro" (1959)or even Jean Delannoy's "Les Jeux Sont Faits" (from Sartre);on the other hand Delon's production "le Passage"(1986) with its computers owes a good deal to Demy.
Francis Huster's juvenile look is rather effective ,but there are problems in his character:making him a bisexual ,why not,but the part of his male lover(Pierre Mallet) is so underwritten their relationship is hardly believable.As for the girl,the choice of a Japanese ,(a "conceptual artist?) is downright bewildering :might it be possible that Demy thought of John Lennon and Yoko Ono?After all,like in the Greek mythology,Orpheus is a (pop jazz) singer in the movie and he is killed by someone in the crowd of his fans.
As for the songs,it did not seem that Michel Legrand found the subject very inspiring:there's only one very good song in the musical (almost every Demy movie is a musical): "Entre Lune (sic) et L'Autre Mon Coeur Balance " is rather peppy and displays some poetry.
"Parking" got unanimous thumbs down when it was released.As far as I am concerned ,I think it's probably the best of the five final movies ;it's not in the same league as the sixties efforts but it's somewhat better than "L'Evenement Le PLus Important...." and "Lady Oscar" .It's more intriguing than "Une Chambre En Ville" and more original than "Trois Places pour le 26" which,while flattering Montand's ego had a screenplay recalling "les Demoiselles de Rochefort" notably.The idea of a parking as Hell antechamber is certainly as smart as the elevator used by Jacqueline Audry ("Huis Clos",1954) and Alan Parker ("Angel Heart" 1987).And, in the end,it's the supporting cast who walks away with the honors :Jean Marais and Marie -France Pisier.
Like "Peau D'Ane ",this film is a tribute to Jean Cocteau:hence the presence of Jean Marais (Demy is the ONLY "Nouvelle Vague" director who cast the great actor in his works) who had made few movies since "Peau D'Ane" (1970).Like the precedent user mentioned ,Demy updated Cocteau's "Orphée ,but this myth was often filmed :actually some scenes reminds me more of Marcel Camus's "Orfeo Negro" (1959)or even Jean Delannoy's "Les Jeux Sont Faits" (from Sartre);on the other hand Delon's production "le Passage"(1986) with its computers owes a good deal to Demy.
Francis Huster's juvenile look is rather effective ,but there are problems in his character:making him a bisexual ,why not,but the part of his male lover(Pierre Mallet) is so underwritten their relationship is hardly believable.As for the girl,the choice of a Japanese ,(a "conceptual artist?) is downright bewildering :might it be possible that Demy thought of John Lennon and Yoko Ono?After all,like in the Greek mythology,Orpheus is a (pop jazz) singer in the movie and he is killed by someone in the crowd of his fans.
As for the songs,it did not seem that Michel Legrand found the subject very inspiring:there's only one very good song in the musical (almost every Demy movie is a musical): "Entre Lune (sic) et L'Autre Mon Coeur Balance " is rather peppy and displays some poetry.
"Parking" got unanimous thumbs down when it was released.As far as I am concerned ,I think it's probably the best of the five final movies ;it's not in the same league as the sixties efforts but it's somewhat better than "L'Evenement Le PLus Important...." and "Lady Oscar" .It's more intriguing than "Une Chambre En Ville" and more original than "Trois Places pour le 26" which,while flattering Montand's ego had a screenplay recalling "les Demoiselles de Rochefort" notably.The idea of a parking as Hell antechamber is certainly as smart as the elevator used by Jacqueline Audry ("Huis Clos",1954) and Alan Parker ("Angel Heart" 1987).And, in the end,it's the supporting cast who walks away with the honors :Jean Marais and Marie -France Pisier.