Cinephile turned filmmaker Jacques Demy (1931–1990) created a filmic world shaped by his deep appreciation for the works of René Clair, Jean Cocteau, Robert Bresson, and Max Ophuls (to whom he dedicated his first feature Lola) as well as many classical Hollywood directors. Themes of chance and absence, circular plotlines tracing the destinies of his characters, masterfully choreographed camera movements, and a penchant for decorative elegance are trademarks of Demy's cinematic style.
Demy's connection to musical structure, expressed through his frequent collaborations with composer Michel Legrand, gives yet another distinctive quality to his melancholic tales of love. From the spectacular opening glissando of Bay of Angels, in which Beethoven's Seventh Symphony accompanies a tracking shot along the French Riviera, to the sung-through recitative of The Umbrellas of Cherbourg or the expressive dance numbers of The Young Girls of Rochefort, Demy's world is one of harmony and grace. His use of location shooting-in his hometown of Nantes, Cherbourg, Rochefort, and, remarkably, Los Angeles-reveals his love for locale. Demy's world is steeped in tender emotion, his eye for cinema an extension of his love of life.
Susan Oxtoby