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A sax player who can't read music—or anything—finds love in the Paris metro.
IMDb
73

Charly (1985)

gritty romanceunderground jazzscrappy charm

Overview

Charly, a young man in his thirties, is illiterate. He hides this handicap by combining humor and a sense of trickery. Charly found his mode of expression: music, for which and by which he lives while searching in the metro with his friends. It is there that he will meet Marie, seduced by this marginal sax player. Marie, despite the tricks deployed by Charly, will quickly realize that he is illiterate. But love has already given Charly the desire to learn to read...

Flag of FRFRFrench
Content warning

Standout Aspects

Acting

Kristin Scott Thomas before stardom—magnetic, restrained, real.

Score

Live saxophone as emotional language, wordless and raw.

Best for:Solo: Late night when you want something short and bittersweet.·Date Night: For couples who like their romance with rough edges.
F

Director

Florence Strauss

ReleasedDec 11, 1985
Runtime10m
StatusReleased

Vibe

Pacesteady
Intensitymedium
Tonemixed
Feelmedium
TF1 Films Production
Président Films

Top Cast

Kristin Scott Thomas

Kristin Scott Thomas

Marie

Jacques Penot

Jacques Penot

Charly

Pascal Elso

Pascal Elso

Boris Bergman

Boris Bergman

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Deep Dive

Trivia, insights & behind the scenes

Trivia

Kristin Scott Thomas made this during her early French cinema period before The English Patient made her international.

Cultural

1980s French short films often used the metro as metaphor for social invisibility—Charly inverts this, making underground space his stage.

Reviews

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