Not very well known outside of France, this is an absolute gem: magic musical from Jacques Demy (The Umbrellas of Cherbourg), with international star Catherine Deneuve in gorgeous princess dresses, golden donkeys, blue horses and a benevolent fairy.

With a set strongly influenced by 1970's pop art, flamboyant colours, and modern elements thrown in, it is a surreal, surprising and dreamy take on a 17th century tale, about a princess fleeing from her father King.

Tonight on a beautiful 35mm print.

THE PLOT

The film is based on a 17th century tale from Charles Perrault.

Once upon a time, there was a great king who lived at peace with his neighbours and very happy, with his beloved wife and their daughter. They also had a donkey whose droppings were gold. However, one day the Queen catches a terrible disease and dies. On her deathbed, she makes her husband promise that if he was to remarry, it would be to a woman as or more beautiful than her. The King promises, and a while after she dies, he starts looking for a new wife. After looking for a long time, he one day sees the portrait of his daughter, and realises that she is as beautiful as his wife, if not more. He then decides to ask her to marry him...

REVIEWS

"Gently charming, opulently beautiful" - THE NEW YORK TIMES

"An exquisite film...a feast for the eyes and ears" - LOS ANGELES TIMES

"Donkey Skin is told with the simplicity and beauty of a child's fairy tale, but with emotional undertones and a surrealistic style that adults are more likely to appreciate." - ROGER EBERT, CRITIC AT THECHICAGO SUN-TIMES

"An ironically enchanting entertainment for grown-ups." - NEW YORK OBSERVER

"It's both innocent and bizarre, with a mischievous sense of fantasy marked by simple but striking cinematic magic." - SEATTLE POST INTELLIGENCER

ABOUT

Anachronic and Surreal

The film is set in the 17th century, but a lot of modern elements are suddenly thrown in, creating a surreal tone to the film.

Some characters fly in helicopter, the fairy godmother seems quite obsessed with her looks ("don't cry it will give you wrinkles!" she says to Donkey Skin), and the lyrics for one of the songs are simply the entire recipe for a cake (which actually works).

If not specifically "modern", these elements are quite "down to earth" / real / realistic, which contrasts with other "magic" / fairytale-like elements of the story, such as instant travelling, fairies and a charming prince.

Pop Art

The decor of the film is strongly influenced by the pop art and “Peace and Love” movements that Jacques Demy discovered in the US in the 1960’s. It is very colourful and flamboyant, and uses props that seem to come straight from a 1970’s hippie shop.

The throne of one of the royal families is decorated with random eccentric objects such as the blue naked torso of a goddess, a rainbow, and a frame of a painting of a white angel on a blue background. The horses are actually blue and red (painted over).

These elements reinforce the surreal tone of the film.

The Music

The music was composed by Michel Legrand, who also composed the music for the musicals The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964) and The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967).

It is simple, light and gorgeous. Jacques Demy wrote the lyrics for all the songs.

Other facts about the films

- Jacques Demy came back to France to make this film, after having spent 2 years in the US. The budget was very limited, so Catherine Deneuve and Jacques Demy accepted big cuts in their salary, and the decor and extras had to be limited.

- Jim Morrison came on the set during the shooting of the film, and he was a good friend of Jacques Demy and Agnes Varda

- The fairy is played by the amazing (amazing!) Delphine Seyrig (1932-1990), who is the main actress in the beautiful Last year in Marienbad (1961, Dir. J. Resnais)

- The King is played by Jean Marais (1913 – 1998), who is the main actor in Orphee and The Beauty and The Beast (both from Jean Cocteau), which we are also showing as part of this season. He is an incredible actor and Donkey Skin was the last film in which he had a main role.

THE DIRECTOR: JACQUES DEMY (1932 – 1990)

Jacques Demy was an amazing French director, and a very special man. Here are a few facts:

- Jacques Demy directed about 15 films, and his most famous films are the musicals The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (Les Parapluies de Cherbourg, 1964) and The Young Girls of Rochefort (Les Demoiselles de Rochefort, 1967)

- He wrote the texts for the songs of his film, and most of his films are very musical

- He is the only European director to have been internationally successful with musicals

- He married the amazing French director/photographer/artist Agnes Varda, who made the great new wave film Cleo from 5 to 7 (1959), and the incredible The Gleaners and I (Les Glaneurs et la Glaneuse, 2000) - and also, the less known but mind-blowing Vagabond (Sans Toit ni Loi, 1985).

- He died of AIDS in 1990, although his illness was only revealed recently, in the auto-biographic film from Agnes Varda, The Beaches of Agnes (2008)

THE AUTHOR OF THE TALE: CHARLES PERRAULT (1628 – 1703)

Charles Perrault was a French author who wrote a lot of the most famous fairytales that we know today, including: Little Red Riding Hood, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Puss in Boots and - Donkeyskin.

These tales were generally pre-existing folk tales, and Charles Perrault didn’t “invent” them, but he is the first person to have written them, and he is the author who laid the foundations for the new literary genre of fairytale writing.