Jacques Demy Retrospective

Jacques Demy (1931–1990) belonged to the same generation as Chabrol, Godard, Rivette and Truffaut, yet like his partner Agnès Varda he worked at the fringes of the Nouvelle Vague and went his own way. As opposed to Truffaut, Demy saw no reason to break with the "old cinema." His debut was dedicated to Max Ophüls; further points of reference were the films of Cocteau, Prévert und Renoir—as well as, and above all, the musicals and melodramas of Vincente Minnelli.

Demy's movies are popular, emotional cinema, romantic and fabulous. They deal with the possibilities of gaining happiness, with the passing of time, and with love. Love, in Demy's films, is mostly obstructed by the realities of life. Military service, the working world, social contradictions, missed opportunities, and the discrepancy of emotions are the obstacles. People lose sight of each other and hope to find each other again, they dream – preferably in a port city – of returning home and of leaving, like Chekhov's characters they live nostalgically in their memories. A melancholic world imbued with cheerful colors, enlivened by music, staged with dances and song. "Pleure qui peut, rit qui veut" (Cry if you can, laugh if you want) is the opening epigraph of his debut, LOLA, which the production company wanted Jacques Demy to add as orientation for the audience. They fictive Chinese saying applies to his entire oeuvre. Between this saying and what is probably the best-known Demy quote from the same movie, "Vouloir le bonheur, c'est déjà un peu le bonheur" (Wanting happiness is already a bit of happiness), is where the secret of Jacques Demy’s art can be found: To create melancholy movies that one leaves feeling light-hearted and enchanted.

Through May 4, Arsenal presents an integral retrospective of all of Jacques Demy’s movies. The program is supplemented by three works of Agnès Varda dealing with their long-standing partnership.