Les Parapluies de Cherbourg (1964)

Film: Les Parapluies de Cherbourg

Director: Jacques Demy

Country: France

Released: February 1964

Runtime: 91 minutes

Genre: Musical

Studio: Parc Film

Influenced: Agnès Varda, Éric Rohmer, Wes Anderson, Jane Campion, Damien Chazelle

Set in the French town of Cherbourg during the Algerian War, Jacques Demy's highly original musical The Umbrellas of Cherbourg tells the story of a young couple, Geneviève and Guy, who fall in love but are separated when Guy is called up for national service to fight in the war. The film opens with Geneviève, who works in her mother's umbrella shop, shown as in love with Guy, a mechanic who works in the garage next door. When Guy is called up to the war, Geneviève is heartbroken but promises to wait for him. However, Guy is away for two years and, during that time, Geneviève becomes pregnant. Her mother pressures her to marry Roland, a wealthy businessman who is willing to raise her child, and Geneviève is torn between her love for Guy and her desire to provide a good life for her child.

One of Demy's major innovations was for the entire film to be sung-through, with no spoken dialogue. This was a radical departure from traditional musicals, which typically used a mix of singing and dialogue. Demy's decision to use only singing gives the film a unique and dreamlike quality. At times, it doesn’t feel like the movie’s singsong dialogue can be maintained throughout the entire hour and a half runtime, but somehow it works. In classic style, Demy split the movie into three parts – Le Départ (November 1957), L'Absence (January–April 1958) and Le Retour (March 1959 – December 1963) – and the action speeds along at a brisk pace.

Another of Umbrellas of Cherbourg's standout features is its use of colour, with the film shot in a bold and saturated colour palette. The opening scene of Geneviève working in her mother's umbrella shop is bathed in a warm, sunny glow, reflecting her happiness and optimism, and the scene in which Guy and Geneviève first kiss has a backdrop of bright red flowers, as if to symbolise their passion. Demy also uses colour expressively to depict emotional turmoil, such as the scene in which Guy leaves for the war set against a backdrop of dark, stormy clouds, and the scene depicting Guy's return, framed by a backdrop of muted colours symbolising Guy's sadness and regret.

In the end, Guy is too late; by the time of his return, Geneviève has married Roland and they raise the child together. Guy is heartbroken but he accepts Geneviève's decision. In this way, the film subverts the expectations of a romantic musical. Also of note is Demy's use of space: Umbrellas of Cherbourg is set in a small port town in France but Demy uses the space in the town in a very creative way to make it feel a much larger, more romantic place. The film is full of long, tracking shots that take the viewer through the town and introduce us to the characters and their world, and this aspect – as well as the innovative use of colour and song – give the film a heightened sense of reality. 

Two footnotes:

1. The film introduced actress Catherine Deneuve to the world and she would go on to have a starring role in many future classics, including Belle de Jour (1967), Tristana (1970) and The Last Metro (1980).

2. The film introduced composer Michel Legrand to the world and he would go on to provide the score for classic films like The Thomas Crown Affair (1968), including the sublime The Windmills of Your Mind.