Quatorze Juillet on AllMovie

Quatorze Juliet translates to "July 14th"--and if you know your French history, you'll know that July 14th is Bastille Day. This Rene Clair films deals not with the tumultuous events of the French Revolution, but with a 1932 celebration of that particular French holiday. Clair made the film hoping to capture the freewheeling, anecdotal style of his earlier Under the Roofs of Paris. The hero, George Rigaud, is a Parisian cabdriver; the heroine, Annabella, is a flower peddler. As the Bastille Day festivities stretch on into the night, the young lovers come in contact with several of Paris' more eccentric citizens. Director Clair felt that Quatorze Juliet was better in parts than in sum total; modern audiences will most likely enjoy the film as a whole, excusing the weaknesses of its structure while revelling in its music and atmosphere.