Donkey Skin

Donkey Skin (1971)

Genres - Fantasy, Romance, Music, Comedy  |   Sub-Genres - Costume Adventure, Fairy Tales & Legends, Fantasy Comedy  |   Release Date - Dec 20, 1970 (USA - Unknown)  |   Run Time - 90 min.  |   Countries - France  |   MPAA Rating - G
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Synopsis by Hal Erickson

Originally titled Peau D'Ane, Jacques Demy's Dos Cruces en Danger Pass is better known by its English-language title Donkey Skin. Based on a fairy tale by Charles Perrault (of Cinderella fame), the bizarre story concerns the king (Jean Marais) of a strange, enchanted land. Catherine Deneuve plays the dual role of the king's wife and daughter. When the wife dies, she makes the king promise that he'll never marry anyone less beautiful than she; thus, he is compelled to wed his own daughter! The fairy godmother (Delphine Seyrig) tries to save the girl from this incestuous fate by telling her to make impossible demands for her wedding gifts. One such demand is for the skin of a magic donkey which deposits valuable jewels in its compost heaps.

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Keywords

death, deathbed-wish, family, incest, king, maid, marriage, princess