In last week’s LACMA series, “Beautiful Dreamer: The Early Films of Catherine Deneuve,” audiences were treated to a few early, revelatory performances by French actress Catherine Deneuve in films like Luis Buñuel’s “Belle de jour” and Roman Polanski’s “Repulsion.” On Tuesday, the excitement intensified when Deneuve attended a preview screening at LACMA of her newest film, François Ozon’s “Potiche,” and then sat for a conversation with LACMA’s film curator, Ian Bernie. (See profile piece here.) Friday and Saturday concludes the series with three of Deneuve’s most interesting and unique films, “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg,” “Donkey Skin” and “The Last Metro.”
Screening Friday, “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg” (1964) written and directed by Jacques Demy catapulted Deneuve to stardom. A musical that explodes with sensual color, “Umbrellas” tells the tale of star-crossed lovers. Deneuve plays an umbrella shopgirl who falls in love with an auto mechanic who goes off to war. Finding herself pregnant and not knowing the mechanic’s intentions, she marries another.
“Donkey Skin” (1970) is a fairy tale musical based on the work of Charles Perrault (Cinderella). The film is also scripted and adapted by Jacques Demy with music by Michel Legrand. In this fairy tale rendering, the tone is a bit darker – Deneuve plays a princess whose father, the King, wants to marry his daughter after the Queen dies. To hide from her father, Deneuve wears a donkey skin and works as a maid in a neighboring kingdom.
“The Last Metro” (1980) concludes the Deneuve series on Saturday, and is one of Deneuve’s most revered works. Written and directed by the amazing François Truffaut, “Metro” won 10 French César Awards and was nominated for an Oscar as Best Foreign Film. Starring Deneuve and Gérard Depardieu, “The Last Metro” is set in Nazi-occupied Paris and centers around a theatre whose Jewish director must hide in the basement while his actress wife, Deneuve, manages and directs the theatre for him. Her directing responsibilities also include directing the newly hired actor, Depardieu. Los Angeles Times’ Betsy Sharkey chose “The Last Metro” for this week’s “film pick of the week.”
For a dazzling intake of cinematic history, catch these fine Deneuve gems on the big screen this weekend at LACMA’s Bing Theatre.
March 11
7:30 PM The Umbrellas of Cherbourg
March 11
9:15 PM Donkey Skin
March 12
7:30 PM The Last Metro
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