Paris 36 -

The setting is Spring 1936 ; a working-class district in the north of Paris. This neighborhood probably had a name once but now everyone simply calls it The Faubourg. At the top of the hill is a view over Paris to one side and, to the other, the burgeoning suburbs of the city. In the center of town there is a small square, a few shops, lopsided buildings, cobbled streets and the peeling façade of the neighborhood music hall, the Chansonia.

In this blue-collar neighborhood, the triumphant election of the Popular Front government is greeted with enthusiasm and hopes for a brighter tomorrow, yet stirs up all kinds of extremism. Among the new government's promises is a law guaranteeing paid holidays for workers.

In early May, three residents of the Faubourg – Pigoil, Milou, and Jacky – still sulk over the closing of the Chansonia four months ago. PIGOIL (Gérard Jugnot), a stagehand at the Chansonia for thirty years, could lost the custody of his 12 year-old son JOJO (Maxence Perrin) if he doesn’t find any work. MILOU (Clovis Cornillac), the Chansonia’s hotheaded electrician and resident skirt-chaser struggles with the shift in goverment regimes and often serves as a spokesman for the "workers aristocracy." JACKY (Kad Merad), former sandwich man at the Chansonia, dreams of showing the world his talent for the stage. He refers to himself as the Prince of Imitators.

Supported by the locals who live to the rhythm of MONSIEUR TSF's (Pierre Richard) radio, the three friends decide to take hold of their destiny by producing the "hit" musical the Chansonia has always needed.

Along the way, they encounter several obstacles, including the hostile antagonism of the neighborhood "godfather", GALAPIAT (Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu) and his group of thugs. With the help of the town, and the arrival of a mysterious and beautiful young actress named DUCE (Nora Arnezeder), PIGOIL, MILOU, and JACKY bring the magic of the stage back to the Chansonia.

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Sony distributing ‘Paris 36’