Featured Audience Ratings

• Fernando Rafael Q

  
  Oniric fantasy set in 1936 Paris. Costume design, cinematography and music are top-notch. Borrows themes from "Cinema Paradiso" and "Moulin Rouge!" and is indelibly and undeniably influenced by THE French film of the last 20 years, "Le Fabuleux Destin… More
  Oniric fantasy set in 1936 Paris. Costume design, cinematography and music are top-notch. Borrows themes from "Cinema Paradiso" and "Moulin Rouge!" and is indelibly and undeniably influenced by THE French film of the last 20 years, "Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain". FAUBOURG 36, or Paris 36 (as it's known outside of France), is evidently clichéd, but beautiful nonetheless. Gérard Jugnot, Clovis Cornillac, Kad Merad and Nora Arzeneder are outstanding in the four most prominent roles in the Christophe Barratier (Les Choristes)-directed film. The rushed, and unnecessarily tragic ending is a dark spot on an otherwise bright film.

• Alice S

  
  Simply delightful! The relationships are so multi-faceted and uplifting: Pigoil and JoJo (estranged father and son), Pigoil and Milou (resentful friends), Milou and Douce (distanced lovers), Galapiat and Douce (tyrannic benefactor and unwilling protege). Smaller parts like Radio… More
  Simply delightful! The relationships are so multi-faceted and uplifting: Pigoil and JoJo (estranged father and son), Pigoil and Milou (resentful friends), Milou and Douce (distanced lovers), Galapiat and Douce (tyrannic benefactor and unwilling protege). Smaller parts like Radio Man and Jacky provide the glue that holds the Chansonia together. Everyone has their falls from grace and their subsequent redemptions. The music is perky fun, and the frame story starts and stops at reasonable places. It's just a nice, happy movie :~)

• Jake .

  
  This is honestly one of the most entertaining things I have seen recently. Granted, its predictable, and there is certainly a sense of "I've seen this before...". Still, its incredible fun and charastmatic. It has a historical setting and tone, but its not overtly… More
  This is honestly one of the most entertaining things I have seen recently. Granted, its predictable, and there is certainly a sense of "I've seen this before...". Still, its incredible fun and charastmatic. It has a historical setting and tone, but its not overtly historical. Its distintively French, but also reminisant of classic Hollywood. I'm kind of curious as too if the songs were created for the film, or if they are traditional French songs... If they are original, they are really pretty impressive. I also really liked how the whole thing revolved around the Chansonia- sort of like how the Moulin Rouge is the backdrop of Moulin Rouge! or Hogarts in Harry Potter. There is a certain audience that will absolutely love this movie, and just as many that will hate it. Its certainly not for everyone; but its visual and entertaining, and, personally, I liked it quite a lot. Its definately a movie I will watch again and again. =]

• Walter M

  
  "Paris 36" starts as Germain Pigoil(Gerard Jugnot) tells a police detective(Marc Citti) why he murdered someone. Previously, Germain was the stage manager at the Chansonia, a music hall, until Galapiat(Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu), an evil capitalist, forces out Dorfeuil(Jean… More
  "Paris 36" starts as Germain Pigoil(Gerard Jugnot) tells a police detective(Marc Citti) why he murdered someone. Previously, Germain was the stage manager at the Chansonia, a music hall, until Galapiat(Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu), an evil capitalist, forces out Dorfeuil(Jean Lescot), the owner, in the waning moments of 1935 and closes the joint. In the first months of 1936, Germain's wife Viviane(Elisabeth Vitali) leaves him and his young son Jojo(Maxence Perrin) supports his drinking anonymously with his accordion playing. Things change radically when Leon Blum and his Popular Front get elected, as strikes are declared and the Chansonia is occupied, waking Germain from his drunken slumber. "Paris 36" is a total victory for production design over content and depth, creating a beautiful looking world while forgetting to fill it with anything meaningful. In the process, it gives short shrift to politics at a point in history when anything was possible. As it is, the movie is simply about people wanting to put on a show, which has been done plenty of times before, with little magic to show for its efforts. It eventually does come together in the end but it is a long way to go for so little.

• Panta O

  
  I was wondering how to write a review for this one... One wants very much to like French filmmaker Christophe Barratier's Paris 36. You can find musical numbers which are very enjoyable and actress Nora Arnezeder is a pleasure to watch. The music of the predominantly accordion… More
  I was wondering how to write a review for this one... One wants very much to like French filmmaker Christophe Barratier's Paris 36. You can find musical numbers which are very enjoyable and actress Nora Arnezeder is a pleasure to watch. The music of the predominantly accordion scores and the cartoonish Parisian setting is precisely what majority of people could imagine when talking about the city of love and romance... but there's something which seems so ingenuine about the whole thing. The style of the film is uncomfortably detached from much of the subject matter. The stoey is set against the backdrop of workers fighting for the right to unionize and the rising anti-Semitic sentiments of 1936, and the film had the potential to be a powerful and frightening historical account, but all this is glossed over with nostalgia. No intensity at all in the situations of social horrors of the period and the film sometimes switches from the children performing in the streets to brutal violence with no change in atmosphere. Imagine someone beat to death with a club after "Edelweise" number from Sound of Music - it's just out of place. It wasn't a bad movie and it is unfortunate that the film suffers from a grievous duality of focus.

• Hal M

  
  This film has great strengths, but also some very lame moments. The music is winning. And then there is this completely ENCHANTING young actress/singer, Nora Arnezeder. What a debut! The cinematography (Tom Stern) and art direction is superb. Amazing tracking and elevator boom… More
  This film has great strengths, but also some very lame moments. The music is winning. And then there is this completely ENCHANTING young actress/singer, Nora Arnezeder. What a debut! The cinematography (Tom Stern) and art direction is superb. Amazing tracking and elevator boom shots! Great composition! It's a beautiful film visually. Oh, but then there's the rather weak script and a few scenes that are painfully bad to watch. Eventually I just switched off the DVD's English subtitles. No reason to follow the dialogue, and trying was distracting me from the visuals. Now, how to review the film overall then? I'll give it 60%. Addendum re: Nora Arnezeder: In a featurette included in the DVD we learn she was only 17 when she auditioned for this role! Now, barely four years later, (late 2011), a search shows she has five major motion pictures currently in production or post-production. If she chose those projects wisely she will be Europe's biggest superstar in short order. And just for the guys: a little Google Image searching turns up topless pix of this barely-legal Mademoiselle, apparently taken at the Riviera. Perfection!

• Andre T

  
  French film directed by Christophe Barratier. This film is set in 1930s Paris.When a neighborhood music hall closes down, a trio of unemployed friends vow to bring the business back from the dead by staging a musical they hope will be a hit. If their gamble pays off, they'll have… More
  French film directed by Christophe Barratier. This film is set in 1930s Paris.When a neighborhood music hall closes down, a trio of unemployed friends vow to bring the business back from the dead by staging a musical they hope will be a hit. If their gamble pays off, they'll have the money to buy the theater for themselves and the power to control their own destinies.Well made film with precise era reconstruction.Great musical numbers in a good french movie.

• Sunil J

  
  I liked this for the most part but can't recommend it. It's kinda Moulin Rouge-y and mostly a blah movie with good intentions but lacks any serious passion. It takes a good 30 minutes to get into it and the ending makes you feel like you wasted your time. It's a great… More
  I liked this for the most part but can't recommend it. It's kinda Moulin Rouge-y and mostly a blah movie with good intentions but lacks any serious passion. It takes a good 30 minutes to get into it and the ending makes you feel like you wasted your time. It's a great looking movie though.

Read all 8 featured audience ratings