Les Parapluies de Cherbourg (The Umbrellas of Cherbourg) poster & wallpaper
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Catherine Deneuve, Nino Castelnuovo, Anne Vernon, Marc Michel, Ellen Farner ... see more see more... , Mireille Perrey , Dorothée Blanc , Jean Champion , Philippe Dumat , Paul Pavel , Alfred Wolff , Harald Wolff , Rosalie Varda , Nino Castelnueva , Mirelle Perrey

Jacques Demy's 1964 masterpiece is a pop-art opera, or, to borrow the director's own description, a film in song. This simple romantic tragedy begins in 1957. Guy Foucher (Nino Castelnuovo), a 20-year... read more read more...-old French auto mechanic, has fallen in love with 17-year-old Geneviève Emery (a luminous Catherine Deneuve), an employee in her widowed mother's chic but financially embattled umbrella shop. On the evening before Guy is to leave for a two-year tour of combat in Algeria, he and Geneviève make love. She becomes pregnant and must choose between waiting for Guy's return or accepting an offer of marriage from a wealthy diamond merchant (Marc Michel, reprising his role from Demy's masterful debut, Lola). A completely sung movie, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg is closest in form to a cinematic opera. Composer Michel Legrand composed the score, modeling it around the patterns of everyday conversation. Umbrellas was re-released in 1997. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi

Flixster Users

86% liked it

8,645 ratings

Critics

98% liked it

46 critics

G, 1 hr. 30 min.

Directed by: Jacques Demy

Release Date: February 13, 2004

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DVD Release Date: October 28, 1997

Stats: 850 reviews

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Les Parapluies de Cherbourg (The Umbrellas of Cherbourg)
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Flixster Reviews (850)

  • kenstachnik
    August 4, 2011
    kenstachnik
    A full-on musical. Singing from start to finish, all 90 minutes. All scored, no talking, total commitment. The production design is also awesome enough to give Wes Anderson a hard-on.

    How successful is it? Very. It's not without it's flaws, but it's very watchable.
  • YLOWBSTARDreturns
    April 13, 2011
    YLOWBSTARDreturns
    The colors, the picaresque locales, the entirely sung dialogue, and the angel that is Catherine Deneuve! "The Umbrellas of Cherbourgh" is 90 minutes of cinematic joy. Simple human melodrama made engaging, profound, and unforgettable in the hands of a master (Demy). If the ending ... read moredoesn't make you weep then I guess you're just not human. A classic musical and easily one of the finest ever crafted.
  • harrycaul
    February 8, 2008
    harrycaul
    Although the highpoints of the film are those of the traditional musical, namely the stars communicating their joys and sorrows through song, what makes "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg" so special is that all of the mundane connecting material is sung as well. We get people singing a... read morebout going to the hairdressers or putting the kettle on, even swearing in song! Catherine Deneuve is absolutely adorable at the start, but our sympathies are gradually transferred from her knocked-up shop-girl, first to the adoring jeweller she marries out of convenience, finally to the first lover who reluctantly abandoned her to complete his national service. By the end of the movie, tragically, Deneuve has paid the price of ignoring her heart by transforming into one of her typically chic, glacial blonds. The vibrantly coloured art direction assaults the senses like a Dulux sheepdog's wet-dream, and complete delight is only precluded by some gratuitous product-placement for 'Esso'.
  • hoganshero
    December 5, 2007
    hoganshero
    Vivid and exciting. Although it is truely a musical from start to finish, you will fall in love with the characters. The city is colorful and alive, and the music will just move you to tears everytime. Perfect.
  • jennifxu
    July 18, 2007
    jennifxu
    This is so cheesy, but it works! It's everything a saccharine musical should be - patent displays of show, incessantly sung dialogue, a sugary sweet background. But at the same time the film is about realism. The actors are gorgeous, the scenery is flawless, and all the singing i... read mores pretty upbeat despite troubles. I love that Jacques Demy creates this fantasy world and inside it tells this very real story. The contrast is just stunning. But the true stars of movie are set designers (or whatever you call them), who manage to make this movie one of the most aesthetically pleasing movies EVER - EVERYTHING matches! The clothes match with the umbrellas, and the wallpaper, and the GROUND, and other people's clothing. It's such a treat for the eyes, like you've temporarily fallen into Candyland. All the clothing is tastefully chosen to match the surroundings, the colored wallpaper and the furniture oh my GOSH I wish my house looked so tantalizingly PERFECT.
  • binky013
    February 19, 2007
    binky013
    A modern French opera, Umbrellas of Cherbourg depicts the difference between the life we hope for versus the life for which we settle. A bitterwseet love story about dreams and reality.
  • gator681
    February 4, 2005
    gator681
    [font=Century Gothic][color=blue]"Mississippi Mermaid" starts out on the Isle of Reunion as cigarette factory owner, Louis Mahe(Jean Paul Belmondo) waits for his fiancee as the eponymous boat is docking. He met her through a personal ad.(During the opening credits, various voice... read mores read out personal ads.) The woman who shows up does not resemble the photo he was sent but he does not mind since the woman is played by the beautiful Catherine Deneuve. As he gets to know her, he becomes suspicious that things are not exactly right. This is not one of Francois Truffaut's better movies but it is still entertaining due to the talents of its two stars.(According to Wikipedia, the Isle of Reunion is still under the government of France which lends an uncomfortable air of colonialism to the proceedings.)[/color][/font]
    [font=Century Gothic][color=#0000ff][/color][/font]
    [font=Century Gothic][color=red]I had hesitated in seeing "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg" before because when I had seen the trailer, it had looked very corny, especially the scene at the train station where the two lovers part. But since I have now seen the film, I have come to a different conclusion. Watching Genevieve(Catherine Deneuve) and Guy(Nino Castelnuovo) in love for the first thirty minutes makes that scene in the context of the film powerfully emotional. Guy is getting drafted into the army and they are not sure when they will be reunited. What makes this film unique is that all of the dialogue is sung(early in the film, the couple mention they are going to go see the opera, Carmen) and the film is absolutely beautiful to look at. This is an excellent film about the idealism of youth as compared to the compromises of being a grown up.(Roland Cassard(Marc Michel) who was a character in Jacques Demy's Lola(1961) makes a return appearance here.)[/color][/font]
    [font=Century Gothic][color=#0000ff][/color][/font]
    [font=Century Gothic][color=#0000ff][/color][/font]
  • wbgoose13
    May 21, 2007
    wbgoose13
    Perfectly frothy melodrama.
  • threefolddado
    March 22, 2008
    threefolddado
    If you don't like this, then you don't like movies.
  • HuskersNC949597
    April 7, 2012
    HuskersNC949597
    They certainly do sing the whole time, that's for sure. Then Catherine Deneuve, pretty much in her prime, is described as something like neither ugly nor pretty or something, I mean, come on.

View All Les Parapluies de Cherbourg (The Umbrellas of Cherbourg) Reviews

Critic Reviews

January 11, 2008
Variety

Seemingly banal and sentimental on the surface, [director Jacques] Demy has avoided these aspects by tasteful handling and the right balance in emotion, compassion and narrative. Full Review

Bosley Crowther
January 15, 2005
Bosley Crowther, New York Times

Not only has he resurrected the quaint and artificial device of having the dialogue set to music and unrealistically sung, but he uses this operatic method to tell a story that is so banal... it would... Full Review

Kevin Thomas
April 22, 2004
Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg has stood the test of time as beautifully as Deneuve and seems likely to enchant future generations as fully as it has audiences over the past four decades. Full Review

Jessica Winter
February 10, 2004
Jessica Winter, Village Voice

A choreography of the everyday timed to Demy's floating long takes and Michel Legrand's at turns jaunty and lachrymose score. Full Review

Andrew Sarris
February 5, 2004
Andrew Sarris, New York Observer

Delicately bittersweet. Full Review

Hal Hinson
March 31, 2003
Hal Hinson, Washington Post

A glorious romantic confection unlike any other in movie history.

Desson Thomson
January 1, 2000
Desson Thomson, Washington Post

An operatic masterpiece of romanticism. Full Review

James Berardinelli
January 1, 2000
James Berardinelli, ReelViews

Far more powerful than one would initially suppose. Full Review

Jonathan Rosenbaum
January 1, 2000
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader

It's a glorious sight to behold -- though don't forget to listen as well. Full Review

Roger Ebert
January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

A surprisingly effective film, touching and knowing and, like Deneuve, ageless. Full Review

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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