It's the weekend of the fair in the picture-postcard seaside town of Rochefort, and with it come daydreams of romance and escape to the big city for twin sisters Delphine and Solange (played by real-life sisters Catherine Deneuve and Françoise Dorléac). New to town and also looking for love are carefree carnival workers Étienne and Bill (George Chakiris and Grover Dale) and aspiring painter Maxence (Jacques Perrin), all frequenting the cafe owned by the sisters' mother Yvonne (Danielle Darrieux), who still pines for a fiancé she left a decade ago.

As with their earlier The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, director Jacques Demy and composer Michel Legrand here created a radiant all-singing, all-dancing homage to the musicals of Hollywood's Golden Age (including finding room for a small but memorable role for Gene Kelly), and like its earlier, better-known sibling this is a world as much of longing and regret as exuberant joy. But if beneath its vibrant, dreamlike pastel-coloured surfaces lie darker, more melancholy notes, then so too does it remain a paean to the optimism in searching for – or rediscovering – love.

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To get us in the mood for our February screenings of La La Land, we’ll be offering some sparkling gems of the classic Hollywood musicals of the 1950s and 60s in the Sunday matinee spots. High-kicking off the new year in style will be Singin’ in the Rain, an enduring favourite starring the wonderful toe-tapping talent of Gene Kelly, wholesome cheesecake Debbie Reynolds, and the ultimate legs of Ms Cyd Charisse. Followed by the Sharks and the Jets of West Side Story (spot those Twin Peaks actors in the prime of their youth!), and finally an extra special screening of Silk Stockings preceded by some classic numbers from the Big R Big Band - don’t miss Twinkle Toes Fred and Cyd dance up a storm! http://www.cubecinema.com/programme/view/musical/