(1964, Dir. Jacques Demy)
In Short: A young woman named Genevieve works in her mother's umbrella shop and falls in love with a mechanic who is drafted into military service. I went into this movie knowing absolutely nothing about it. Consequently, I was stunned by two things: 1) This movie is French and entirely in French, and 2) It is entirely sung through, opera-style. Between the foreign language and the constant singing it took some getting used to, but once I recovered from the shock, I was able to get really into it. Another aspect of this film I noticed immediately was the meticulously crafted color palette. Wes Anderson who? The confectionary color scheme of The Umbrellas of Cherbourg is hard to beat, and Catherine Deneuve's outfits are to die for. Despite its colorful and musical world, though, this movie is pretty much a bummer. (A beautiful bummer.) Although the movie's main couple (Guy and Genevieve) is separated very early on, one expects a joyous reunion for them. Sorry, folks, it never comes. Guy and Genevieve go their separate ways and have very separate stories. Director Jacques Demy brilliantly highlights this separation by blocking out the plot in such a way that the stories of Guy and Genevieve do not interlock or cut back and forth to one another. The beginning of the film shows us Guy and Genevieve together, then it's just Genevieve, then it's just Guy, then, briefly, we see their lives intersect once again at the end of the film. That final intersection takes place at a gas station, which, in my mind, is the perfect location for such a transient, terse meeting. Stopping for gas is a short errand, a stop along the way. That's the way Guy and Genevieve's meeting happens--it doesn't change the course of their lives. It happens, and they both just keep going along. It's sad in the way that it's heartwrenchingly real. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg is a simple, realistic bummer of a story in a fanciful, pastel-tinted musical world, and that's what makes it really work. The idealism of the characters is reflected in the look of the film, but the sad realism of their story comes through in the plot. I love that! I loved this movie and I think more people should see it. The characters are interesting (though not necessarily sympathetic) and they interact in fascinating ways. (Fans of Gilmore Girls will like this one.) Also, have I mentioned that this movie is gorgeously gloomy? A lovely letdown? A delectable downer? I can't recommend it enough.
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AuthorEileen here, writing reviews for film class. Archives
April 2018
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