Donkey Skin (1970)
Directed by: Jacques Demy
Written by: Jacques Demy, Charles Perrault
Starring: Catherine Deneuve, Jean Marais
Finally get to see the 2004 digital restored version of the 1970 French film on DVD. Directed by The Umbrella of Cherbourg’s Jacques Demy, it also starred the impossibly beautiful and elegant Catherine Deneuve~ It is a lovely, magical, innocent yet slightly wacky adaptation to the Charles Perrault version of Fairytale story “Donkey Skin”. It’s one of my favorite stories, particularly memorable because of the disturbing incest premise (errr…a much needed moral lesson for little girls back in the days?). There were about 4-5 song numbers, mostly fluffy love songs. The humor, the painterly floral set and the outrageous costumes just made it so much fun to watch.
So this is a story where a King owned a donkey who shit gold and gems from its ass. X-D The King promised the Queen on her deathbed wish that he would remarry only to a women more beautiful than her, and of course there was none. The only person who can rival the dead Queen’s beauty was their daughter. So the daddy wanted to married his own daughter. Daughter tried to delay the wedding by asking dear Daddy to achieve impossible tasks but somehow he managed to succeed them all. At last she escaped by covering herself with the filthy dead donkey’s skin and hid in the forest working in a pigsty. Then enter the Prince and the stories made a Cinderella turn (instead of a glass slipper, it was a ring).
You know how Shrek was noted for made a refreshing modern humorous twist on fairytales, well they did that here 30+ years ago. The Fairy godmother was characterized as a upper society socialite who was always filing her nails and riding in helicopter. It is quite disturbing to hear her sing merrily “daughters can’t marry their father,” when the Princess was all confused and kept asking “why not? I mean I love my daddy~!?” yet the fairy godmother never elaborate, just kept singing “you just can’t, it is wrong, ok?” ^^;;;
The King’s throne is a weird giant Hello Kitty faced white feline, it is simply awesome! 
. His costume was like a rock star from a theatrical rock opera with silver shimmer gloves, pants and boots! He was played by Jean Marais, most known for his leading roles in Jean Cocteau’s films (Beauty and the Beast, Orphee).
The impossible task the Princess asked for were three dresses that are made of ‘Good Weather’, ‘Moon‘ and ‘Sun.’ I like the Good weather dress most, it is projected with moving white cloud~ so beautiful~~).
The Good Weather Dress
The Moon Dress
The Sun Dress
