The Umbrellas of Cherbourg

Easily among my top 10 movies. I don't even like most musicals. The songs and music in this movie aren't even catchy or bombastic. Even I have to admit that.

But there's so much else I love about this movie. It's tragic and romantic. It's about class, economic hardship, the war in Algeria, fate, tough luck, love, hope and depression. Probably only Frenchmen could produce such a masterpiece. It's beautifully shot. It's awesome how much of this story is told from a female perspective. It's constantly on the brink of becoming kitsch but it never crosses this line. I'm fascinated by the vibrant colors, the French culture in general - especially how well everyone is dressed - and all things from this bygone era, that doesn't exist like that anymore. Not even in France. Not now - probably not back then.

And it features gorgeous Catherine Deneuve. Her performance is impeccable.

And this finale scenes always touches me like not many other movie scenes.

Going into this I was worried its shtick would get annoying, but I was very pleasantly surprised. Don’t let its surface and style intimidate you, this is a simple emotionally grounded melodrama about a young couple. It’s not the type of musical that thrives on memorable songs, but the constant singing adds to the whimsy mood in an interesting way. For the most part it avoids big emotions, excess or the cheap theatricality found in a lot of musicals, so I found it very easy to connect with. Besides the scenes at the train station that bookend the first act, which border on being tacky, this is an honest, tragic look at the fate of youthful romance. It subverts the type of big dramatic moments or conflict usually found in stories like these, opting instead that sometimes life just gets in the way of things. The directing is superb, everything is so meticulously done that it should be in the conversation of most well directed films ever made. Demy maintains a tight control on the tone, the lighting and colour are mindblowing and even the editing is really sharp (lots of great match cuts). The character work and acting are also great, it never sacrifices depth or soul despite its straightforward story. I’d recommend this to anyone who likes twee, melancholic filmmaking with lots of artifice, for example I think most Wes Anderson fans (or films inspired by that style) should be able to appreciate this. Loved it.

9/10

The original title of rhe film is Les Parapluies de Cherbourg.

"All that singing gives me a pain. I like movies better."