Jean Demy’s The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964) is a beautiful relic of the film era that predated the age of the blockbuster. A musical set in France’s rainiest city during the country’s conflict with Algeria, Demy’s masterpiece is a love story that’s at once whimsical and tragically realistic. Genevieve (Catherine Deneuve) is in love with Guy (Nino Castelnuovo), but their love is tested when he goes to war for two years and leaves her pregnant. Not just the perfect film to end the Calgary Cinematheque Society’s inaugural season, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg is easily one of the best films ever made.
Though the story is simple, Demy delights in the language of film, fleshing it out with a master’s delicate use of colour, motion and sound. Every set, every shot is awash in vibrant blues, reds, pinks, yellows and greens; one base colour accented by others to suggest the characters’ feelings — specifically their feelings for each other. In one early scene, blue-clad Guy meets yellow Genevieve outside of her mother’s umbrella shop. He embraces her, and they to the swing right of the frame, cooing small talk. They stop beside a blue bulletin board plastered with yellow advertisements. The visual harmony of the composition suggests their perfection in each others’ eyes — or their lovers’ naiveté, as Demy’s gradual transition from primaries to earth tones over the course of the three acts implies.
While innocent, dew-eyed love is duotone in Demy’s world, it sings no matter what. Whether characters are greeting each other, bantering, arguing or joking, the entire film is written in verse and set to Michel Legrand’s towering score. There are no distinct musical numbers; instead, Demy’s dialogue blooms into poetry as emotions run high, blurring the lines between musical and opera. Combined with the rigorous use of colour, this defines the film as a single cohesive.
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg is a sublime film, and the rare opportunity to see it shouldn’t be wasted. It isn’t complicated, nor does it revel in its own cleverness, but accessibility by no means implies a lack of depth. Indeed, the reason for the film’s greatness lies in its purity of concept. It’s an ancient story, but told in a way that would be impossible in any other medium. As hugely entertaining as it is to live in the world of the blockbuster, films like this are the reason why we all fell in love with movies in the first place.