Paris 36 (Faubourg 36) (2008)

We saw four movies over the holiday weekend and liked every one. This trés charmant little pièce followed Babette's #2 Rule for Movies. The production team did a great job of melding lovely paintings (many of which included the Eiffel Tower) with street sets. In fact, I was so convinced that all the backgrounds were paintings that I was surprised to see a "Tzech" unit in the end credits (Prague is one of the usual locations for period pieces). Another usual touch, accordion music in a French film, was built right into the plot, as the harried theatre owner Pigoil (Gérard Jugnot), who was working to keep his business in business, had a son JoJo (Maxence Perrin) who played the accordion. Writer/director Christophe Barratier previously wrote and directed The Chorus (Les choristes - 2004), which was also a wonderful movie with lots of music starring Jugnot. Barratier was a producer on the stunning Winged Migration (Le peuple migrateur - 2001) and Microcosmos (1996), which is a fabulous documentary about bugs, shot in extreme close up. I presume the filmmakers think Americans are such hicks we can't handle its real title, Faubourg 36, which means suburb. This movie has won awards in its native country for acting (Nora Arnezeder as Douce) and composer Reinhardt Wagner, as well as César (the French Oscars) nominations for original music, cinematography, costumes, sound, and production design. Its time period of the 1930's during Hitler's rise to power gave the movie a political edge beyond the small story of the theatre and Pigoil's personal and artistic struggles. But my favorite parts were the musical production numbers. Recommended.