Chantons sous l'Occupation

Brimming with torch songs, boulevard ballads and kitsch dance routines, Halimi's exhaustive documentary compilation is a chronicle of the wartime entertainment scene in Paris, featuring most of the famous names of the period, from Jean Cocteau to Maurice Chevalier. All good French joie de vivre...except that Halimi's deadly serious purpose is to expose how eagerly French showbiz collaborated with the Nazis in preserving a public image of 'normality' under the Occupation. Following outraged protests in France, Halimi reportedly added footage showing entertainers who didn't fraternise with the Germans or who actively worked with the Resistance; but his indictment doubtless remains scathing.