The Umbrellas Of Cherbourg [1996]

Any one who is failed to be moved by the awesome railway scene must be lacking of all emotion.

This is a must see movie if ever there was one. And you want to see it, share it and remeber it forever.


A steel-centred, rapturous bon-bon in brilliant cellophane.   April 30, 2001
11 out of 14 found this review helpful

Jacques Demy's stunningly hued, sung-through, musical effortlessly wraps itself around the hard-edged survival drive that propels the very best of his films. Set in an 'Emerald-city' coloured Cherbourg, a radiant Catherine Deneuve glides through the anguish of love found, lost and compromised as the need for economic stability increasingly bleeds through the glorious, gaudy paintwork that throws every backdrop into a firework display of colour and display. While Michel Legrand's uncomplicated score captures the naivety of young love rising to the orchestral sweeps of separation and hopeless reunion, it is Demy's cast, as always, who truly animate this carousel of naive optimism and materialism. Here is a group of actors equalling Demy's vision with performances of exhuberant superficiality undercut by the occasional glimpse of the drab realities that lie just beneath the coats of paint and Chinese print wallpaper (Anne Vernon's Madame Emery, in particular, is a spell-binding, hilarious mix of 'petit-bourgeois' respectability and frustrated unconditional, maternal love). Celebrating the headiness of young love, Demy ensures that the economic balance sheet is never waltzed out of the action. People go on because they have to go on. Life continues and they are inextricably caught up in their own continuity. Demy never censures their selfishness because it is enmeshed in hope and not mere profit speculation. The film is a triumph because it has the courage (and love) to transcend the possible triteness of its individual components in isolation, looking, unfalteringly, towards its final combination of a defiant, dizzying celebration of small lives and big dreams. Utterly hypnotic!


The most beautiful film ever made.   September 27, 2000
8 out of 9 found this review helpful

The first 10 minutes of this film seem very bizarre-everyone is singing in french, singing about ordinary things (there is no spoken dialogue throughout). This makes it seem very funny, but within 10 minutes you become sucked into the beautiful, colourful film about a teenage romance. The relationships between the characters are detailed clearly through the songs, which vary from jazzy numbers to heartbreaking songs of loss and love. I won't spoil any of the story for you, because it is so perfect. Watch it without any pre-concieved ideas and enjoy. The best musical,romance or foreign film ever made.


Lovely and unusual   February 20, 2006
4 out of 4 found this review helpful

This is a lovely film. I've yet to work out whether this is a film about the difficulty of maintaining the ideals of romantic love or about the need to compromise. I guess it is neither or both. Like a lot of quality cinema, it leaves it to the viewer to decide.

The film's story is simple. Boy meets girl. Boy goes away and loses girl. Will boy and girl get back together? But the simplicity of the story leaves you to concentrate on the film's strengths.....the film looks incredible. Vibrant pinks and yellows blend perfectly with the rain and snow. In some ways it feels uniquely French. It blends an appreciation of romance, art and beauty with a healthy cyncism and appreciation of the way things really are.

The score is a real gem, moving effortlessly from jazz to full blown orchestra and choir: and on this viewing I found myself watching the railway scene over and over: it is an absolute classic.

This is a 5* movie, but loses a star, as the sound transfer on the DVD is odd. The visuals are great, but the pitch on the sound is very high, leaving Catherine Deneuve sounding almost Chipmunk like at times!


A beautiful feel-good film   December 5, 2000
P. Werner (Luxembourg)
2 out of 3 found this review helpful

One of my all-time favourite films. It's such a treat for eyes and ears alike, and it never fails to make me feel good about life. Brilliant cinematography and an inspired score make this very enjoyable indeed. Try watching it on a dark wet winter evening, and see what happens!

The only shame is that its 'companion film', "Les Demoiselles de Rochefort" (also a Jacques Demy/Michel Legrand cooperation with Catherine Deneuve and her late sister, Francoise Dorleac) is unavailable on video.