The Young Girls of Rochefort (Les Demoiselles de Rochefort) is a 1967 French musical comedy directed by Jacques Demy. A companion piece to Demy’s earlier The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, the film is celebrated for its pastel-colored aesthetic, jazzy score, and tribute to the golden age of Hollywood musicals.
Set over a single weekend in the seaside town of Rochefort, the story follows Delphine and Solange Garnier, twin sisters who teach dance and music while dreaming of finding love and artistic careers in Paris. As a carnival comes to town, a series of missed connections and near-misses unfold, with characters often narrowly avoiding their ideal partners until the final moments.
Played by real-life sisters Catherine Deneuve and Françoise Dorléac. Tragically, Dorléac died in a car accident just months after the film's release. The film features Hollywood legends Gene Kelly as an American pianist and George Chakiris (West Side Story) as a carnival worker.
Composed by Michel Legrand. Notably, Danielle Darrieux (playing the twins’ mother) was the only cast member who sang her own parts; others were dubbed by professional singers. To achieve Demy’s vision of a “pastel paradise,” production designer Bernard Evein repainted 40,000 square meters of Rochefort's city facades.
The film is considered a masterpiece of the French New Wave’s later years, blending whimsical optimism with subtle themes of military presence and social change. A stage musical based on the film was produced in France in 2003, adapted by Alain Boublil and directed by Daniel Moyne. It is now widely regarded as one of the best musical movies all of time, one of the best films out of French cinema, one of the best pictures of the 1967, of the 1960s, as well of the 20th century and Demy’s best film alongside The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964).
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