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Parking

1985, Movie, NR, 95 mins

Parking: Review

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Jacques Demy, best known for his ingenious musicals like THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG (1964), has again delved into the musical realm, this time combining it with the legendary Orpheus myth, previously filmed by Jean Cocteau in 1950. Rather than literally remaking Cocteau's version, Demy has updated the legend, turning Jean Marais's poet character of the original into a successful rock 'n' roll star. Huster plays the modern-day version of the poet who speaks to the passions of youth. He lives in a chateau with his Japanese sculptor wife, Ito (an angelic-looking actress who learned her dialog phonetically). During a rehearsal for one of his many sold-out concerts, Huster is electrocuted as sparks pass through his guitar cord. He is taken into the Underworld by Quester, a messenger of death. Instead of passing through a mirror to gain passage to the Underworld, as in the original, Huster and Quester pass through a parking garage gate (after putting an encoded card into the nearby slot) and enter a cold, dark underground lot where the dead await their fate. After Ito dies, Huster strikes a deal with the Underworld judges to allow he and his wife to rejoin the living, but he must not look at her before the dawn comes or else he loses her. He accidentally looks at her, she slips away into the Underworld, and he carries on with that evening's concert. Playing before a packed house, Huster is gunned down by a crazed fan and is reunited with his love, Ito, in the afterlife. An interesting picture filmed with a great love of the original, PARKING suffers chiefly from its prominent musical score. Huster's dialog is sung in a manner typical of Demy's previous musicals, but the supposed rock 'n' roll coming from his lips is frightfully lame. Penned by famed composer Legrand, Demy's frequent collaborator, the songs are pseudorock and don't seem as if they could pack a stadium with screaming teenagers--nor does the rather uncharismatic Huster for that matter. The film is dedicated to Cocteau and features ORPHEUS star Jean Marais in a small role as the Devil. It received a film festival release in 1985. (In French; English subtitles.) leave a comment
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