''Three Seats for the 26th'' (french: Trois places pour le 26) is a 1988 French

romantic musical film Romance films or movies involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their journey ...

, scripted and directed by

Jacques Demy Jacques Demy (; 5 June 1931 – 27 October 1990) was a French director, lyricist, and screenwriter. He appeared at the height of the French New Wave alongside contemporaries like Jean-Luc Godard and François Truffaut. Demy's films are celebrat ...

to music by

Michel Legrand Michel Jean Legrand (; 24 February 1932 – 26 January 2019) was a French musical composer, arranger, conductor, and jazz pianist. Legrand was a prolific composer, having written over 200 film and television scores, in addition to many son ...

. Set in

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

, it shows the singer and actor

Yves Montand Ivo Livi (), better known as Yves Montand (; 13 October 1921 – 9 November 1991), was an Italian-French actor and singer. Early life Montand was born Ivo Livi in Monsummano Terme, Italy, to Giovanni Livi, a broom manufacturer, Ivo held strong ...

returning to the city where he grew up and looking up old friends, including his first love Mylène, who had been a prostitute and is now the wife of a jailed baron. The purpose of his visit is to rehearse a stage musical based on his life, where the female lead he falls in love with is Marion, the daughter Mylène had after they parted. It was Demy's last picture.

Plot

The film opens with the famous singer and actor Yves Montand arriving in Marseille, where he grew up, to rehearse a new musical based on his life. From his years as an unknown, including the loss of his first great love, the show moves on to his artistic and amorous links with great stars like

Édith Piaf Édith Piaf (, , ; born Édith Giovanna Gassion, ; December 19, 1915– October 10, 1963) was a French singer, lyricist and actress. Noted as France's national chanteuse, she was one of the country's most widely known international stars. Pia ...

and

Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...

. In his free time he looks up old friends, hoping in particular to find Mylène, his first love who worked as a prostitute. At his hotel, a card is left by the Baroness de Lambert, who asks to see him. While in his dressing room, he is entranced by a fan called Marion, who asks him for three seats on the 26th so that she and the two girls she works with can attend the sold-out opening night. Though trained in acting, song and dance, she works in a perfume shop. When the leading lady has to leave the cast because of pregnancy, Marion volunteers and is hired. When Yves rings up the mysterious baroness, he recognises from her voice that she is Mylène and the two have a tender reunion in the bar where they first met. She is living with the daughter she had after they parted but will lose her home, since her husband has been sent to prison for five years. The opening is a great success and the show is booked to run in Paris. Marion spends the night with Yves and, as they talk about each other's lives over breakfast, she realises that she is his daughter. Unshaken in her love for him, she goes home to get her mother. The two women he has loved most in his life then join Yves on the train to Paris.

Cast

: Yves Montand *

Mathilda May Mathilda May (born Karin Haïm; 8 February 1965) is a French film actress. Early life May was born in Paris, France. Her father, playwright Victor Haïm, is of Sephardic Jewish ( Greek-Jewish and Turkish-Jewish) descent. Her mother is the Sw ...

: Marion de Lambert *

Françoise Fabian Michèle Cortes (born 10 May 1933), known professionally as Françoise Fabian (), is a French film actress. She has appeared in more than 100 films since 1956. In 1971, Fabian signed the Manifesto of the 343 The Manifesto of the 343 (), was a F ...

: Marie-Hélène, Baroness de Lambert (formerly Mylène Le Goff) *

Jean-Claude Bouillaud Jean-Claude Bouillaud (7 June 1927 – 20 June 2008) was a French film and television actor. Biography Jean-Claude Bouillaud is the son of Charles Bouillaud, prolific actor from the 1940s to the 1960s. He first worked for about fifteen years a ...

: the captain *

Antoine Bourseiller Antoine Bourseiller (8 July 1930 – 21 May 2013) was a French comedian and opera and theatre director. Born in Paris in 1930, from 1960 to 1963 Bourseiller headed the Studio des Champs-Elysées. In 1966, he was named director of the Centre dra ...

: Fonteneau *

Christophe Bourseiller Christophe Bourseiller (; born Christophe Gintzburger; born 27 September 1957 in Paris) is a French actor, writer, freemason and journalist. He began as a child actor and starred in Yves Robert's '' War of the Buttons'' (''La Guerre des boutons'') ...

: Serge *

Geoffrey Carey Geoffrey, Geoffroy, Geoff, etc., may refer to: People * Geoffrey (name), including a list of people with the name * Geoffroy (surname), including a list of people with the name * Geoffrey of Monmouth (c. 1095–c. 1155), clergyman and one of the m ...

: Michael * Sophie Castel : receptionist * Katy Varda : Alice * Marie-Dominique Chayze : Nicole *

Raoul Curet __NOTOC__ Raoul is a French variant of the male given name Ralph or Rudolph, and a cognate of Raul. Raoul may also refer to: Given name * Raoul Berger, American legal scholar * Raoul Bova, Italian actor * Radulphus Brito (Raoul le Breton, die ...

: hotel manager *

Mathieu Demy Mathieu Demy (born 15 October 1972) is a French actor, film director and producer. He is the son of French film directors Agnès Varda and Jacques Demy. Career Demy started as a young actor in Agnès Varda's films ''L'une chante, l'autre pas ...

: Derderian *

Danielle Durou Danielle is a modern French female variant of the male name Daniel, meaning "God is my judge" in the Hebrew language. Variants *Dana – Czech, German, Romanian Polish *Danette – English *Daniela – Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, English, Germ ...

: Miss Destain *

Patrick Fierry Patrick may refer to: *Patrick (given name), list of people and fictional characters with this name * Patrick (surname), list of people with this name People *Saint Patrick (c. 385–c. 461), Christian saint * Gilla Pátraic (died 1084), Patrick ...

: Toni Fontaine *

Paul Guers Paul Guers (19 December 1927 – 27 November 2016) was a French film actor. He appeared in 70 films between 1955 and 1996. He starred in the 1963 film '' Kali Yug: Goddess of Vengeance''. He was born in Tours, France and died in Montsoreau. ...

: Max Leehman *

Bertrand Lacy Bertrand may refer to: Places * Bertrand, Missouri, US * Bertrand, Nebraska, US * Bertrand, New Brunswick, Canada * Bertrand Township, Michigan, US * Bertrand, Michigan * Bertrand, Virginia, US * Bertrand Creek, state of Washington * Saint-B ...

: Steve Larsenal *

Catriona MacColl Catriona MacColl (born 3 October 1954) is an English actress who has worked extensively in both film and television across Europe. She is best known for her work in Italian horror films, as she has appeared in Lucio Fulci's '' City of the Living ...

: Betty Miller *

Pierre Maguelon Pierre Maguelon (3 September 1933 – 10 July 2010) was a French actor. Selected filmography * ''Tire-au-flanc 62'' (1960) * '' The President'' (1961) - Un parlementaire (uncredited) * ''Cartouche'' (1962) - Un complice de Cartouche (uncredited ...

: Marius Ceredo * Christiane Minazzoli : Mrs Simonot *

Carlo Nell Carlo is a given name. It is an Italian form of Charles. It can refer to: * Carlo (name) *Monte Carlo * Carlingford, New South Wales, a suburb in north-west Sydney, New South Wales, Australia *A satirical song written by Dafydd Iwan about Prince ...

: Berlingot *

Jacques Nolot Jacques Nolot (; born 31 August 1943) is a French actor, screenwriter and film director. Life and career Jacques Nolot was born on 31 August 1943, Marciac, Gers, a small village in Southwest France. A fragile child, Nolot was doted upon by his ...

: Marcel Amy

Reception

For the reviewer of

Le Monde ''Le Monde'' (; ) is a French daily afternoon newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average circulation of 323,039 copies per issue in 2009, about 40,000 of which were sold abroad. It has had its own website si ...

, after the dark tragic passion of ''

Une chambre en ville ''Une chambre en ville'' (also known as ''A Room in Town'') is a 1982 French musical drama film written and directed by Jacques Demy, with music by Michel Colombier, and starring Dominique Sanda, Danielle Darrieux and Michel Piccoli. It is set ag ...

'' Demy returns with this final film to love as the supreme force in his art. Love in this case not only surmounts the age gap between Montand and his unknown daughter Marion but also survives the discovery that the two have unknowingly committed incest. Her sexual power over Montand is not idealised or ambiguous but in a bold and surprising fashion goes hand in hand with the feelings the two have for each other. Strong though her hold over Montand seems, her still very attractive mother exerts an even greater pull.Frenc
''Trois places pour le 26''
at Le Monde.fr

Notes and references

External links

*{{IMDb title, 96309 1980s musical films 1988 films Films directed by Jacques Demy Films set in Marseille French musical drama films Incest in film Films about actors Films about singers Films about nobility