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Even though many usually associate musicals with Hollywood, there were of course a few major attempts in Europe as well. In France, it was mainly the director and screenwriter Jacques Demy who liked his films to be a bit more sweeping and pompous. In 1967, he created "Les demoiselles de Rochefort," a musical that many consider a classic and is cited in "La La Land," among others. Catherine Deneuve took over the singing parts, and a number of other big names were added. Funny, for example, was the idea of casting Delphine's sister Solange with Deneuve's real-life sister Françoise Dorleac. Michel Piccoli and Gene Kelly also took on smaller roles.

But even the big names can hardly conceal the fact that the characters taken over are decidedly insignificant. If it weren't for the different hair colors of the Garnier sisters, for example, it would be hard to remember who is supposed to be who here. The same applies to the carnies, who only appear in a double pack, which is why Demy probably didn't think it necessary to give them some personality along the way. The girls' mother, on the other hand, only stands out because she makes somewhat curious demands on the men - an unfavorable name can mean the end of love. Of course, this is not meant quite seriously, as everything here is presented with an obvious wink. How often do you hear people warbling happy songs about a wife-killer up to no good? Such discrepancies are not uncommon in "Les demoiselles de Rochefort": banalities are hyped up into very big stories. But passages that really cry out for more depth are ignored. Of course, one can find this funny, how nonchalantly any sense of reality is ignored. Or also very silly. Somehow the musical manages the rare feat of being unnecessarily complex and trying to accommodate too many characters at once, while offering no real content.

Still, as vacuous as the search for happiness is here, the film looks very good doing it. Against the backdrop of the charming harbor town, Demy plays with colors as well as backgrounds so exuberantly and with relish, as if he were in a studio and not in a real town. This further underscores the surreal ambience set by the content. The way costumes and backdrops correspond here, and the way the camera is sometimes twirled around, is worth seeing, and even more than 50 years later it still invites you to travel to the west of France for two hours and forget the here and now. In addition, the score, which was nominated for an Oscar at the time, and sometimes more or less pleasing songs, which suffer a bit from the different vocal qualities, entice the viewer. As soon as the credits roll across the screen, however, one will have seen enough of this pretty candy package and retained too little.