Bolero: Dance of Life

The film is a musical epic and it is widely considered as the director's best work with Un Homme et une Femme.

The film follows four families, with different nationalities (French, German, Russian and American) but with the same passion for music, from the 1930s to the 1960s. The various story lines cross each other time and again in different places and times, with their own theme scores that evolve as time passes. The main event in the film is the Second World War, which throws the stories of the four musical families together and mixes their fates. Although all characters are fictional, many of them are loosely based on historical musical icons (Édith Piaf, Josephine Baker, Herbert von Karajan, Glenn Miller, Rudolf Nureyev, etc.) The Boléro dance sequence at the end brings all the threads together.

Robert Hossein

(Simon Meyer / Robert Prat)

Nicole Garcia

(Anne Meyer)

Geraldine Chaplin

(Suzan / Sara Glenn)

Daniel Olbrychski

(Karl Kremer)

Jorge Donn

(Boris & Sergei Itovitch / Lead Dancer of Boléro)

Rita Poelvoorde

(Tatiana & Tania Itovitch)

Macha Méril

(Magda Kremer)

Évelyne Bouix

(Evelyne / Edith)

Francis Huster

(Francis)

Raymond Pellegrin

(M. Raymond)

Paul Préboist

(Le grand-père d'Edith)

Jean-Claude Brialy

(Le directeur du Lido)

Marthe Villalonga

(La grand-mère d'Edith)

Fanny Ardant

(Véronique)

Jean-Claude Bouttier

(Philippe Rouget)

Richard Bohringer

(Richard)

Nicole Croisille

(Nicole Croisille)

Ginette Garcin

(Ginette)

Jean-Pierre Kalfon

(Père Antoine)

Geneviève Mnich

(Jeanne)

Alexandra Stewart

(Alexandra)

Éva Darlan

(Eva)

Manuel Gélin

(Patrick Prat)

Candice Patou

(Candice)

Maïa Simon

(Me Isabelle Prat)

James Caan

(Jack Glenn / Jason Glenn)

Sarah Abrell

Féodor Atkine

(Alexis)

Mireille Audibert

Jean-Claude Bourbault

(Le garde-barrière)

Christophe Bourseiller

Jean-Pierre Castaldi

Anne Caudry

(La fille d'Eva)

Louise Chevalier

(La bonne du Père Antoine)

Véronique Coquet

Thérèse Crémieux

Katalin Csarny

Dan Daes

Nicole Daresco

(Gina)

Andrée Delair

Linda Dingwall

Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu

(Le représentant Croix Rouge (UNICEF))

Maxime Dufeu

(Le voisin)

Andy Fenwick

(Glenn as a boy)

Farmer Fuller

Ernie Garrett

(Bobby)

Charles Gérard

(Charlot)

Evelyne Hue

Gérard Ismaël

Philippe Jacques

Lyle Joyce

(Mr. Tracy)

Jacques Villeret

(Jacques)

Valérie Quennessen

(Francis's girlfriend)

Sharon Stone

(Girl with Glenn Senior (uncredited))