Review of French Cancan (1955) by Mitchell W — 13 Jan 2008

Immensely satisfying, this was a homecoming for Renoir, his first French film since "The Rules of the Game." He directed plenty of excellent films in the interim, but something was usually missing.

Given the humanist nature of Renoir's films, they benefit a whole lot more when they're made in his native language and the cast's. "French Cancan" is often lumped into a conceptual trilogy with "Golden Coach" and "Elena et les hommes," and I think it's the best of the three.

More fully realized than "Golden Coach," the relationships between the characters and their work is richer, more colorful, and the film as a whole is more subtle and less allegorical. It's also a GORGEOUS looking movie, the best-looking color film Renoir's ever made, and the final scene is the most exuberant, entertaining sequence he's ever done too.