JACQUES DEMY

Bil’s rating (out of 5):  BBBB

Original title:  La Baie Des Anges

France, 1963.  Sud-Pacifique Films.  Screenplay by Jacques Demy.  Cinematography by Jean Rabier.  Produced by Paul-Edmond Decharme.  Music by Michel Legrand.  Production Design by Bernard Evein.  Costume Design by Bernard Evein.  Film Editing by Anne-Marie Cotret.  Podcast:  My Criterions.  

Claude Mann plays a bank teller who one day decides to join a friend and go to a casino for a little fun. Initially warned against the addictive qualities of gambling, Mann ignores his friends and family and forges ahead in a new career of risk and loss, winning more and more money every time he tries.

He meets up with an equally addicted woman (Jeanne Moreau) with whom he runs away to a seaside vacation where they win and lose alternately depending on the day. It’s an adorably cheeky little film, with an appropriate message and a cute love story in the centre. Moreau is positively divine, and Mann handsome and amiable.

The Criterion Collection:  #715