THE YOUNG GIRLS OF ROCHEFORT

If you loved LA LA LAND, put this one on your list. Damien Chazelle drew inspiration from Jacques Demy’s musicals, and THE YOUNG GIRLS OF ROCHEFORT makes the connection easy to see: aspiring artists, romantic near-misses, bright colours and jazz, with an entire town available for choreography.

Catherine Deneuve and her real-life sister Françoise Dorléac play twins Delphine and Solange, who teach music and ballet while dreaming of careers in Paris. The arrival of a travelling fair offers a welcome distraction. So do the visitors it brings.

Around them, potential lovers keep missing each other. A sailor has painted his ideal woman without knowing she lives nearby. Old lovers are closer than they realise. Everyone seems ready for something to happen, provided they can find the right person before somebody leaves town.

Demy assembles a cast that includes Gene Kelly, George Chakiris from WEST SIDE STORY and Danielle Darrieux. Michel Legrand supplies a score full of melodies you’ll want to hear again. Between the pastel costumes, the choreography and Gene Kelly making it all look effortless, there’s plenty here to fall in love with.

Deneuve and Dorléac are a particular pleasure. Just a few months after its release, Dorléac died in a car accident at 25. Knowing that makes the sight of the two sisters together especially moving, in a film so full of excitement about what life might bring.

This is one for the believers in true love, the musical lovers and the jazz fans. For anyone who wants to see two wonderful actresses together, one on her way to becoming a cinema icon, the other showing just how much more she had to give. And if you’re bringing someone you fancy, it’s a great date movie.