This is probably the most hilarious ballet film ever made, you can watch it over and over again any number of times, and you will find it equally delightful every time and constantly discover new details and never tire of it. It's only 20 minutes, but in these 20 minutes there is so much compressed, it's a constant whirlwind of action with also any number of intrigues, and even a grand fight in the middle involving the entire ensemble with jealousy and tremendous drama, but although everything seems to be in a muddle of confusion from begining to end, it all sticks together, it's a marvel of choreography, and the choreography is all by Leonid Massine, who plays the lead - a Peruvian tourist in Paris for the first time and getting mixed up in the very heart of all the pleasures of Paris concentrated in one spot. It's not just a marvel of choreography but also a miracle of direction, the director being Jean Negulesco, a Romanian, who was to make any number of prominent films in all kinds of genres - like Billy Wilder, he never repeated himself. The centrepiece of this ballet though is Leonid Massine, leading the dances with sparkling humour all the way, like a juggler and acrobat, and he is the one who makes it all an unsupassed ballet comedy. In brief, I saw this film already as a child, it was my first ballet film, I could never forget it, I saw it several times already then, and now I found it again and will at last be able to enjoy it regularly for the rest of my life.
