Essential Arthouse: Donkey Skin (1970)
A fairy godmother helps a princess disguise and flee the kingdom so she won't have to marry the king who happens to be her father. (NR, 90 min.)
Showtimes
Wednesday, May 20, 2026
7:00 PM
Essential Arthouse 2026
In this lovingly crafted, wildly eccentric adaptation of a classic French fairy tale, Jacques Demy casts Catherine Deneuve as a princess who must go into hiding as a scullery maid in order to fend off an unwanted marriage proposal—from her own father, the king (Jean Marais). A topsy-turvy riches-to-rags fable with songs by Michel Legrand, Donkey Skin creates a tactile fantasy world that’s perched on the border between the earnest and the satiric, and features Delphine Seyrig in a delicious supporting role as a fashionable fairy godmother. [Janus]
Starring: Catherine Deneuve, Jean Marais, Jacques Perrin
Director: Jacques Demy
Genre: Comedy, Fantasy, Musical, Romance
"Tuneful, colorful, delightful."
— David Sterritt, Christian Science Monitor ·
"An enjoyable hour-and-a-half for adults that creates a wholly unique world of colorful sets, costumes, and characters."
— Staff, TV Guide Magazine
"It's both innocent and bizarre, with a mischievous sense of fantasy marked by simple but striking cinematic magic."
— Sean Axmaker, Seattle Post-Intelligencer
"It's practically a primer on how to rework a literary classic into an impressively restrained movie with something fresh and intelligent to say."
— Janice Page, Boston Globe
"Donkey Skin is told with the simplicity and beauty of a child's fairy tale, but with emotional undertones and a surrealistic style that adults are more likely to appreciate."
— Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
"Like Demy's other movies it's one of a kind, at once monstrously Oedipal and charmingly infantile; Deneuve managed to be both hilarious and touching in her donkey drag."
— J. Hoberman, Blouin Art Info
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