THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG
(LES PARAPLUIES DE CHERBOURG)
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 1996 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): ***
So, do you like musicals? Do you like opera? How about a blend? The classic 1964 film THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG (LES PARAPLUIES DE CHERBOURG) by director Jacques Demy has been restored and rereleased to the theaters. Yes, it will undoubtedly make its way soon to video, but for my money, I think you should see it in all of its radiant colors in a real movie house and not a living room.
There is a long history behind this restoration, but from what I can gather, the key facts are that the film was originally shot on an unstable type of film so that the colors faded quickly. Even if you saw the movie when it first came out, the colors may have already begun to fade significantly by then. They somehow found an original 3 color separation negative and from that they reconstructed the color as it was always intended to look. For those of you who are specialists in this area of film, please do not fill up my in-box with trivial reasons why this is not quite the right explanation. It is probably close enough for the average movie goer.
At any rate, this is a picture that looks spectacular. The colors are bright primary ones with blue and yellow tones dominating. In fact the cinematography by Jean Rabier has colors so saturated that if it were on TV you might try to turn the color intensity knob down some to "fix" the color. Suffice it to say that it is the color that is actually the best part of the show!
THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG does have a plot, good acting, and pleasant singing so it is more than just a splash of color. The film starts with the most impressive and lovely sequence in the movie. The camera is shooting straight down onto a cobblestone street. Each stone looks like it has been individually chosen for its lush and radiant color. The rain starts to pour although it appears the cloud must be a mile high and about 4 foot wide based on the pattern of the rain. Soon people come strolling by except you can not see them given the angle of the shot. All you can see is their brightly colored umbrellas. Their walking pace intensifies until the film switches to a scene in a garage.
An auto mechanic named Guy (Nino Castelnuovo) is in love with Genevieve Emery (Catherine Deneuve). Her mother, Madame Emery (Anne Vernon), does not approve of this match as she wants someone wealthier for her daughter. The umbrella theme reappears since Madame Emery runs an umbrella shop. From there the show goes on with Genevieve getting pregnant, and Guy going into the army.
None of the plot is important. I love opera, especially Wagnerian opera. Now, if you read the plot of any opera or ponder the words, you will probably never "waste" your time seeing it. It is the same here. THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG is first and foremost a musical and a display of cinematic color richness and gorgeous sets (Bernard Evein). If you do not like music and not care about the images of a film, don't waste your time with this movie.
Some words about the acting. Catherine Deneuve and Nino Castelnuovo are handsome actors with infectiously bright spirits. The acting is light, but lovely. I had no idea how beautiful and innocent looking Catherine Deneuve was. The last film I saw her in was BELLE DE JOUR (1967), and she was made to look harsh in that one.
The singing is of the recitative variety where all of the words are lightly sung rather than spoken. If you are used to the more traditional musical like THE SOUND OF THE MUSIC, you may be surprised at how different this technique is. There are no big musical numbers, but rather people talk in a singing voice. It reminded me of the priest singing the Eucharist rather than saying it. I liked the singing in THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG, but I must confess, I like the traditional musical with big musical numbers more.
THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG runs just 1:27. It is in French with English subtitles. It is not rated but I would guess it to be PG-13 material for some of the themes presented. It is probably fine for kids over 10. Although I confess that I got a little tired of recitative, I loved the images and the fresh acting, so I am recommending this film to you and awarding it ***.
**** = One of the top few films of this or any year. A must see film. *** = Excellent show. Look for it. ** = Average movie. Kind of enjoyable. * = Poor show. Don't waste your money. 0 = One of the worst films of this or any year. Totally unbearable.
REVIEW WRITTEN ON: May 20, 1996
Opinions expressed are mine and not meant to reflect my employer's.
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