Paris 36

Annotation for 70mm film seminar 2009 by Martin Witoszek & Barnabáš Cibule

The story is set in the suburbs of Paris in 1936. The May elections are won by the Popular Front (Front populaire), a coalition of left-wing parties. Leon Blum becomes prime minister. This is the first time in French history that a socialist has held this position. The workers' movement celebrated this fact by declaring a general strike. Over a million workers took part in it. The result was the Matignon Agreement, which, among other things, caused a 40-hour workweek and the need to conclude a collective agreement with employees.

A group of newly unemployed vaudeville actors join the striking workers. They take over the theater from which they were fired and begin producing their own show.

The second feature film by director Christophe Barratier, whose debut Nightingales in a Cage from 2004 was nominated for an Oscar for best song, once again revolves around music. This one was written by Reinhardt Wagner. The camera was operated by Tom Stern, who has been working regularly with Clint Eastwood since the 2002 film Bloody Trail. The film's production designer is Jean-Yves Rabier, who worked on Steven Spielberg's Munich and Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette.