Black & White World

Les Parapluies de Cherbourg (1964)

In the past when I’ve reviewed Roman Holiday here, I’ve always referred to it as “one of the three greatest romance films of all time.” Umbrellas of Cherbourg is another of those three (Casablanca is the third, but A Very Long Engagement is nudging its way up there), in fact I would put Umbrellas in the top spot.  It’s in French, every line of dialogue is sung, the art direction is drawn in bold primary colors, giving the film an almost cartoon-like feel at times.  And it’s the most realistic love story I’ve ever seen portrayed on screen.

With a heart-rending score by Michel LeGrand, Les Parapluies de Cherbourg tells the story of two young lovers, Guy and Genevieve, who are separated by time and circumstance when Guy is called up for army service.  Director Jacques Demy was clearly influenced by American musicals of the 1950’s and their brilliant Technicolor (more evidence in Demy’s next film, Les Demoiselles de Rochefort), but this is not just a glossy, slick production.  Demy and his great cast create real characters, with real flaws and beating hearts, put in real and everyday situations.  The fact that they sing everything they say doesn’t lessen their reality.

I had a musical theatre instructor who told us, “The reason characters in musicals sing is that their emotions can no longer be contained by mere speech—the song is the only way to capture what they feel.” Demy is one of the few musical directors I’ve seen who truly understands that.  So many musicals follow the “act act act, stop and sing, act act act” method.  Guy and Genevieve and the characters around them sing because they have to.

I can’t recommend this movie highly enough.  If you can make it to the end without feeling just a pang of emotion somewhere along the way, congratulations—you are Made of Stone.

1. This is a film that I try to share with everyone I know.  It’s easily in my top ten, and it is one of the most knowing and truthful films about love ever produced.

   Posted by garv  on  12/26  at  11:35 PM

2. My review will cover this (when I get around to it!  This week, hopefully), but I think this film is the most realistic look at love and romance I’ve ever seen.  Despite the fact that it’s a musical and drawn in bold primary colors.

   Posted by  on  12/26  at  11:58 PM

3. Argh. Chrispy got to you too. Next you’ll be rushing out to marry Lars von Trier.

   Posted by LilyG  on  01/04  at  10:43 AM

4. I’ve always had a funny notion that part of the reason why Guy is so changed after he returns from military service is because they sent him someplace where people don’t sing all the time.

   Posted by garv  on  01/04  at  05:34 PM
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