The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964)

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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-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, All Movie Guide

Theatrical Feature Running Time:

92 mins

Complete Cast:

Director(s):

Jacques Demy

Writer(s):

Jacques Demy

Producer(s):

Mag Bodard

Categories:

Romance, Independent Films

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• 1964 - The Umbrellas of Cherbourg - Cannes Film Festival - Grand Prix
• 1963 - The Umbrellas of Cherbourg - French Film Critics Circle - Prix Louis-Delluc