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Paris 36

Spring, 1936 - In the working-class district of Paris stands The Chansonia Music Hall. With its peeling facade, the theater acts as a dividing line between the city's blue-collar neighborhoods and the encroaching suburbs. The triumphant election of the Popular Front government is greeted with hope yet also stirs up fear. For three show-business veterans, however, that hope has been sidetracked by The Chansonia's closing. When Pigoil (GA?Acrard Jugnot), the stage-hand, 30 years with the theater; Milou (Clovis Cornillac), the hot-headed electrician, skirt-chaser and union agitator; and Jacky (Kad Merad), the theater's "jack-of-all-trades," convince The Chansonia's owner, Galpiat (Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu), to re-open the theater, the three men are convinced they will reestablish the theater's former glory. Will the dreams of these old friends succeed or will they and the theater be swept away on the rising tide of fear and anti-Semitism that threatens to creep in? The arrival of the mysterious and beautiful young singer Douce, or "Sweety," (introducing singer Nora Arnezeder) holds the key.In the tradition of Busby Berkeley extravaganzas and pre-WWII vaudevilles and cabarets, 'Paris 36' celebrates a passion for music, love and liberty and for those accidental heroes who stand up against extreme forces.