"Donkey Skin," from 1970, is a live-action fairy tale musical. Yep, that's what it is. Music by Michel Legrand again, and once again starring Catherine Deneuve (and Jean Marais, for you "Beauty and the Beast" fans). Most reviews I've read of this set are much less enthusiastic about the last two movies in the box, but I liked this one as much as the previous ones. True, the story comes from a children's fairy tale, so it's fairly predictable, and there's a simplistic air to the whole construction. Still, I was completely involved in it start to finish. I kept thinking of "The Princess Bride," which I think is a superior movie to this one, but the attitude about a lot of "Donkey Skin" is the same. The music here isn't nearly as memorable as the songs in the previous musicals, but it still works well. I won't go into a plot synopsis, as.....well, it's a fairy tale.
Which brings us to "Une Chambre en Ville," the final film in the set. This one was released in 1982, and yet stylistically it's not much different than "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg." The music is constant, and all dialogue is sung. While I liked it, I do see why people are less enthusiastic about this one. For one thing, the music this time is by Michel Colombier, instead of Legrand. The music is good enough but lacks the magic of Legrand's themes.
The plot of this movie is much darker than all of the other movies in the box (well, maybe not "Bay of Angels"), and presenting it as a pop opera seems a bit odd. But it does work. It might not be a highly-rewatchable movie, though. The sets are as garishly colorful as in any of Demy's previous color films. I'll call this one a winner, but less of a winner than the previous five films. How's that?
Time to move on.....
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