Les Parapluies de Cherbourg (The Umbrellas of Cherbourg) — Review
1964’s French musical drama encapsulates the grandeur of a perfect romance and life’s sobering changes.
1964 French Musical-Drama ‘Les Parapluies de Cherbourg’ (The Umbrellas of Cherbourg) masterfully captures the deep, changing emotions when it comes to love and loss. Bursting on the scene with coordinated colour and romantic stringed instrumentals, it can be seen as surreal, and all too real.
Directed by Jacques Demy and starring Catherine Denueve and Nino Castelnuovo, ‘Les Parapluies de Cherbourg’ illustrates a simple story in a magnificent way. Young mechanic Guy Foucher falls in love with Geneviève Emery, a worker at her mother’s umbrella store. As Guy leaves for two years of service in Algeria, their love turns sour as Geneviève is left sickly heartbroken. Pregnant with Guy’s child, she is left to decide whether to wait on her first love or to choose success in marrying a diamond broker.
It can be said that in the 1960s, it was not always conventional to depict a love story in cinema that didn’t end happily (with the exception of ‘Casablanca’ (1944)). Further to this, audiences can be taken aback by the way that ‘Les Parapluies de Cherbourg’ ends. As characters Geneviève and Guy are introduced as completely smitten with one another and life was perfectly colourful, the harsh reality creates a bittersweet awakening. This makes the story itself all the more meaningful and moving. Despite the constant appearance of saturated happiness seen in the sets and costumes, change is inevitable.
This has the operatic film reflecting upon the bold realities we may face. The depth in the plot has certainly gone on to influence stories in the future. The classic musical’s excellence has inspired further projects, like the smash-hit movie musical ‘La La Land’. The 2016 film’s bright colours, enhanced sets, melancholy soundtrack, and unorthodox ending of a romantic relationship all resemble and are influenced by the French romance. Director of ‘La La Land’ Damien Chazelle claims that he has watched ‘Les Parapluies de Cherbourg’ more than two hundred times. As ‘La La Land’ lovers, Mia and Sebastian, choose success over romance, so does Geneviève.
Every aspect of the film: from the music to the acting, set design, costuming, and sequences, all greatly follow a melancholy and passionate tale. The sheer beauty of these elements makes the innocent story appear otherworldly, and all the more gripping. Set designer Bernard Evein’s artistic scenery has us feeling as though we have stepped into a colour coordinated, fashionable painting. Whereas costume designer Jacqueline Moreau’s designs match the bright wallpapers, each character’s outfits coordinate with the scene, painting them into it. Further to this, as Geneviève and Guy’s emotions change and lives are challenged, the set, lighting, and costume design appear unchanged. This again presents the touching reality of life: as things progress, life around us still goes on the same.
French musical composer and artist Michael Legrand’s soundtrack adds to the brilliance of the film and its emotions. The film can be deemed a ‘cinematic opera’. With every movement in the music, each sentence that a character delivers becomes all the more moving. The excitement of jazzy trumpets blaring showcases a loved-up Guy’s happiness when finishing a shift at the car dealership, whereas slowed strings reflect utter heartache from Geneviève. It is the masterful music that makes the most mundane phrases from any walk of life seem special.
The mix of music with visuals also adds further depth to the artistic musical. In a scene with a pregnant Geneviève, she debates with her mother about her changing feelings for Guy. Outside the umbrella store, a lively festival occurs with crowds dancing outside. Whereas in the forefront of the shot, a tear-stained Geneviève sings a melancholy tune, making a pressing life decision. The musical’s leading theme ‘I Will Wait For You’ is sung by Geneviève in pensive moments throughout the film. By reprising a familiar tune, we can connect to her emotions evolving as time passes. Reprises are a powerful motif and certainly succeed in impacting audiences in ‘Les Parapluies de Cherbourg’. These aspects so make it all the more a powerful story.
As simple as the New Wave story can be seen to be, it is the deep emotions that are portrayed that make it such a swooping classic. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a film that depicts the deep-seated, kooky feelings of love and heartbreak so greatly. When together, Guy and Geneviève never doubt their plans for the future and constantly proclaim their true love for one another. Yet, as Guy leaves for service in Algeria, Geneviève is bedridden with heartbreak. Again, it is thanks to the poignant music, as well as the fairy-tale costuming and saturated set design that sweeps us off our feet along with the two lovers.
Yet again, these supposedly strong feelings of pure infatuation do not hold up. The musical’s leading theme “I Will Wait For You” turns out to be a false declaration from Geneviève to a leaving Guy. The lyrics read, “if it takes forever I will wait for you, for a thousand summers I will wait for you”. Yet she, in fact, did not wait for him. However grand romance may appear, the actuality of life is that love does change. Geneviève sings, “I would have died for him, so why aren’t I dead?”, leading her to even question her own emotions, as she discovers that she can live without the man she believed was an irreplaceable soul mate.
As ‘The Guardian’ described it as ‘impossibly beautiful’, The Los Angeles Times claimed that it ‘continues to charm and delight for the same reasons it did back in 1964’, and Rotten Tomatoes gave it a 98% rating. Catherine Denueve and Nino Castelnuovo’s eloquent performances grace the screen in ‘Les Parapluies de Cherbourg’, having us walk away with mixed, yet impacting emotions. As a straightforward story from a small town in France is turned into something sublime through visuals and music, we are all the more inspired. It is the interest created from of a mundane drama that makes it a favoured classic. Jacques Demy’s exquisite tale of a life lost holds so much emotion and makes it one to put on over and over again on a rainy day.
Stars Out Of Five: 5/5
