Arguably Demy’s greatest film, this adds dance to the brew as (real life) sisters Catherine Deneuve and Françoise Dorleac dream of love and leaving Rochefort just as a carnival and an American composer (Gene Kelly) hove into view. With a town square repainted in breezy hues, energetic choreography, superb songs and support from the likes of Michel Piccoli and Danielle Darrieux, this is one of the most joyously ebullient movies ever. Critic Jonathan Rosenbaum has described Les demoiselles as ‘a kind of poetic fugue in which boundless despair and exuberant optimism coexist. This is Demy’s vision of life—Lola and The Umbrellas of Cherbourg are suffused with much the same ambiguous mixture—but thanks to Michel Legrand’s buoyant score and the size of the canvas, The Young Girls of Rochefort conveys it with unparalleled vibrancy and luminosity.’