Tuesday, March 21, 2017

An American in Paris - Movie Review

1951. Two American young men in Paris (both broke) trying to find their artistic sides - one a musician and another a painter. The painter finds an elderly woman who has a habit of patronising young artists and getting involved with them. The fourth angle, one older French friend, an established singer, is in love with his young protege and wants to marry her.

Now make the artist fall in love with the young protege and her in love with him. You have two young, broke souls who are in unwilling relationships with older people who are clinging on to them. For a while they are torn and then sanity prevails. I wish the older ones had got together too but they obviously want young blood. Gene Kelly is brilliant. Paris never looked more lovely in a movie. 1951 was a happy period. Song and dance (one 17 minute setting at the end that is the longest I have ever seen - big in scale too). What's not to like about it?

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