Paris 36

Christophe Barratier's "Paris 36," an irresistible and impeccable period musical set against the political and economic turmoil of France in the mid-1930s, focuses on three very different friends who work at the Chansonia, a seedy red-plush and gilt music hall in an ancient, picturesque neighborhood, the Faubourg, on the edge of Paris. Gerard Jugnot's Pigoil is a kindly, stocky, middle-age stagehand, the solid rock of the theater's operations; Clovis Cornillac's Milou is the theater's handsome young electrician, a fiery leftist; and Kad Merad's Jacky Jacquet is an exuberant, politically naive entertainer who gives terrible imitations until he discovers his talent for singing. (Full review)