L’Univers de Jacques Demy (1995) - film review

An engaging portrait of Jacques Demy, one of the France’s most significant film directors, seen through the eyes of his widow, Agnès Varda.  Recent interviews with actors and producers are interspersed with archive footage, providing an insight into a talented and greatly loved filmmaker.

After the death of her husband, Jacques Demy, Agnès Varda made three films which celebrated the work of the  famed New Wave director and shed some light on his personal and professional life.  After the biographical drama Jacquot de Nantes (1991), which recounted Demy’s childhood, and Les Demoiselles ont eu 25 ans (1993), which marked the 25th anniversary of one of Demy’s most famous films, L’Univers de Jacques Demy is a documentary which encompasses the whole of the his career.  Each of Demy’s films is covered (including his early short films), often with some background of the contemporary themes – the Algerian War in Les Parapluies de Cherbourg, social conflicts in Une chambre en ville (1982), etc.   Instead of following a strict chronological path, Varda takes a more haphazard stroll through her husband’s career, sometimes linking films that have no obvious connection.

It is an affectionate, beautifully composed portrait of a man who was clearly loved and greatly admired by all who knew him – even if he had a reputation for inflexibility (according to some of the contributors).  There are plenty of interesting facts – for example, Demy’s original choice for the male lead in Model Shop (1969) was Harrison Ford.  (Demy was obliged to give the part to Gary Lockwood when a studio executive insisted that Ford was wrong for the part and, to quote, "had no future as a film actor"…)  Demy’s lesser known films – such as Lady Oscar (1978) and Parking (1985) also fall briefly under the spotlight, as does his all but forgotten television film, La Naissance du jour (1980).


© James Travers 2005

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