Review: The Umbrellas Of Cherbourg

12th March 2014

In 1964, Jacques Demy enters ‘The Umbrellas of Cherbourg’ into the Cannes Film Festival, it goes on to win the Palme D’Or and become one of the most beautiful musicals of all time.

50 years on and the film is getting a lovely 2 disc anniversary release in celebration of its achievements. The DVD boasts a whole load of interviews and a wonderful documentary about Jacques Demy himself.

I got the chance to watch the film yesterday evening and I did so without really knowing what I was in for. At first my sank when the film began and the cast starting singing… Fuck! A musical!! I didn’t know anything about this movie and now because I have a job to do I have to watch a musical, in French no less, so not only is it colourful and cheery but I can’t understand a word. Cut forward to the moment the credits roll and I am welling up with tears as my inner romantic whimpers “but they were meant for each other”.

It’s now a full day later and I’m back to my entirely manly self, Grrr! So here’s why you should watch this movie even if you only do so once. This movie is gorgeous, the costumes, sets and bright colours abound make is something hard not to watch. Yes, the dialogue is completely sung and hell how they did that so well with rather realistic dialogue is quite an achievement, through singing arguments, declarations of love of matter of fact tales of war it’s all done in great melodic fashion. There’s some truly moving scenes in there too whether it be moments where the characters break the fourth wall and look directly into the camera in resignation of what’s to come, a sort of ‘we both know what’s coming don’t we’ kind of look. The final scene shows the great storytelling prowess of Jacques Demy as what could have been a very over the top romantic scene that makes the audience cheer is played out with skill, the words are irrelevant because it’s all about what the characters aren’t saying that breaks your heart.

So this is the story of a young love and not your fluffy movie kind of love, but real love, doomed love. Some loves aren’t destined to happen and we all have these at some point in our lives. Love is always affected by things out of our control, things we can’t see until the bubble bursts.

8/10

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