PARIS 36

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Pre-World War II Paris is the romantically volatile setting for director Christophe Barratier's ("Les Choristes") sumptuous blend of love, drama, comedy, and political intrigue.

The film's title designates the Parisian working class district of Faubourg where music hall stage manager Germain Pigoil (Gerard Jugnot) struggles to keep his theater, the Chansonia, open against the wishes of a local mobster named Galapiat (Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu).

A gifted chanteuse named Douce (brilliantly played by Nora Arnezeder) insures the theater's success with her golden voice and tender beauty.

A family secret about the identity of Douce's talented father adds a current of thematic intrigue that runs parallel to her growing romance with the Chansonia's electrician Milou (Clovis Cornillac).

There's a beautiful nostalgia here, and an embrace of France's political struggles of the era exerted between the people's Popular Front and the fascist Solidarity Order Combat group.

Manifold character, theme, and story lines weave to form a thoroughly entertaining tapestry of vibrant French life.

Just when you thought they didn't make films like "Children of Paradise" anymore, "Paris 36" comes along to rejuvenate the genre.

Rated PG-13. 120 mins.