Same Old Song

"On connait la chanson" is a great French movie. Not often the culture and lifestyle of a country is shown so happily, modern and still entertainingly in a film. The plot is not "straight", it's rather a patchwork of single stories, that are connected with each other. The French chanson, the title says it, plays a central role. It is this kind of music, though sometimes pretty close to kitsch, that is so typical for France. Instead of expressing their feelings only in words, the protagonists sing lines from well-known chansons, all the way from Maurice Chevalier to Serge Gainsbourgh.

Fortunately, there is no dubbed version of this film, the subtitles do very well. So if you want to know something about France and especially Paris today, go and watch it. Also people who normally don't like foreign films will have a lot of fun with it.

In many ways "On connait la chanson" is precursor to a new method of film-making undertaken by veteran French director Alain Resnais.This is the second film by Resnais (I want to go home) which has palpable American influence on French culture.This is a film which features many versatile actors of French cinema who are part of his family of actors.Those who have seen "Coeurs" will have no trouble recognizing these stars.Jean Pierre Bacri and Agnès Jaoui act as a couple who worked with Resnais on this film's screenplay.The philosophy of this tender,light hearted film is simple.If life is a song then a song must be sung.What we see and hear are many great songs of French music which were originally sung by famous French singers such as Alain Souchon,Edith Piaf,Jane Birkin etc.It can be surmised that in order to create suspense at the beginning of the film,Resnais even transported us back in past when he showed that Nazis had invaded Paris to destroy French capital.It is a great feeling that nothing like this happened.

it's a simple funny film that talks about few people who know each other or get to know each other afterward. The aspect that makes it differ from other movies is that the protagonists sing often their feelings or ideas! The used songs are popular French songs that are well known by everybody in France. I liked it in general but it is not a plot that interests me that much since the most of these relations were not that interesting for me. The most important human aspect that was shown in this movie is that many things are not as they seem to be! Some people show that they are strong and have great achievements and they have everything under control but they are not that achieving! They have to accept that they are only normal people and show their true selves to the others.

This film, a tribute to Dennis Potter (pennies from heaven, the singing detective), is the best french comedy I've ever seen. Basically it's a typical well-made french film about relations, with great acting, set in Paris. But it's more than that: it's also a musical. Here are some reasons why I think it's a great movie. First, the chansons, play-backed by the actors, are brilliant. Imagine a Wehrmachtofficer lipsinging to an Edith-Piaf chanson (in the opening act). The best thing about the chansons, is the fact that they actually support the story, as they serve as moments of reflection and introspection for the players. Maybe it's the contrast between the extreme sentimentality and the 'serious' acting that makes this film so great. Go see it.

The films central theme, that of having characters break into lip-synced song and dance routines, is not original and indeed the film introduction acknowledges the debt to the UK playwright Dennis Potter. The plot of the film is enjoyable in a light hearted way and the characters well drawn and played. As a English speaker I assume that we lose something of the effect as the songs chosen are not familiar to us as no doubt they would be to a native French viewer. What does irritate slightly I found is the overuse of the "break into song". Potter, if my memory is correct, uses it far more sparingly with a few larger set pieces. At points in this film the characters are breaking into song so often that it feels as if the plot will be broken too much. Definitely worth watching though for the performances.