Great Film overall

Absolutely Brilliant!

Blistering performances.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Considering La La Land is one of my all-time favorite films, surely I have to see the film that inspired it, right? The Umbrellas of Cherbourg is a beautiful and melodramatic take on a French romance in musical form. Just as it was the case with La La Land, I have a feeling this film will get better on repeated viewings. With every word sung, and in a different language, sometimes it's difficult to follow what is being said and what the emotional intentions are of each word. Watching romances in another language is always a fascinating experiment. On one hand, you could say that the language doesn't ultimately matter because what is meant is often shown through facial expressions. But at the same time, not being familiar with the native language can make it difficult to understand the exact tone of each spoken word. After all, how do we really know how well the actors can act if you aren't familiar to their language?With all that said, there's no escaping the beauty to The Umbrellas of Cherbourg. Jacques Demy crafted this story in such a unique way, through imagery and framing devices. Catherine Deneuve and Nino Castelnuovo resemble last year's Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone by being an honest and charismatic couple that you can root for. Just the pure emotion that both of them pour into their characters is admiring. Only, I wish we did get to see a little more of them doing things together, instead of just gush over each other through song after song.Getting lost in the music, colorful imagery, and dreamy sequences are probably why this film became so popular, and further inspired La La Land. Although nothing really compares to the latter, 'Umbrellas' works on other levels because it's a contained, quiet, and sincere love story told through beautifully arranged musical numbers. This is one for the ages.8.6/10

This film rises above the novelty of all the dialogue being sung. Not operatic, just sung. This is the sad story of two people who are driven apart by circumstances. The result of one night is a child. Forces beyond their control get in the way and they must take other directions. This has some of the most beautiful scenes in it. It is the true love story without a lot of contrivances and the haunting factor of the beautiful interaction of the two leads later in life. Catherine Deneuve is startlingly beautiful and she dominates the screen whenever she is on it. Gorgeous. Lovely landscapes in the French countryside. A feast for the senses.

A three-act musical (or four if one counts the final reunion independently) with all dialogue sung by its characters, the second of its unique kind I've watched so far, the previous one is Tom Hooper's LES MISÉRABLES (2012, 6/10), THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG is director Jacques Demy's third feature, a controversial Palme d'Or winner, more for its groundbreaking technique than its own substance, nevertheless it instantly launched the starlet Catherine Deneuve into stardom and has initiated her extended and illustrious career not only limited in the French cinema.Denueve's glacial beauty is her calling card even in her earlier stage (the dismissive DONKEY SKIN 1970, 4/10, another Demy-Denueve collaboration, does her wrong to disguise her as a free-spirit and spontaneous princess), at the age of 20, she plays a young girl Geneviève living with her widow mother Madame Emery (Vernon), they are running a chic umbrella shop in Cherbourg in 1957, Geneviève's sweetheart is Guy (Castelnuovo), a young boy working in the local garage and lives with his auntie Élise (Perrey) and an orphan girl Madeleine (Farner). The film is slickly divided into three parts: departure, absence and return, Guy is mandatorily drafted in the army in 1958, two lovers have to be split for two years. In the second act, told in Geneviève's perspective, she is pregnant with Guy's baby, but gradually persuaded by her mother to marry an affluent man Roland Cassard (Michel) and they left Cherbourg after the wedlock; and in the third act, Guy returns from the war, becomes despondent of Geneviève's betrayal, but life must go on, he inherits some fortune from Élise and marries Madeleine, and they have a boy named François.Years later, they inadvertently meet at the gas station owned by Guy, Geneviève is accompanied by their young daughter Françoise, always the most awkward reunion for two former lovers, the film ends in a more rational note when they gingerly trade conversations, leaving too many unsaid undertones flowing torrentially, and a timely farewell is a befitting coda to the lingering blues. The story may be a bit sad and nondescript, but the biggest asset is its varicolored locale settings, costumes and coiffure à la mode, even for the not-so-rich protagonists. Guy's brown suit ill-matches his black shoe, nevertheless his azure and pink shirts are divine, as for Denueve and Vernon, the daughter-mother pair dominates the show every time with their distinctive flair for haute couture and color compatibility.Also, let's not forget it is an out-and-out musical, singing voices are all dubbed at post- production nevertheless, French is already mellifluous in speaking, so the singing part sounds like an unremitting bombardment of chansons, which inconveniently degrades into monotony soon after, thus it does demand a more tonality-friendly ear to revel in the excessiveness, after all, it is a love letter to the sentimental romantics, a lovely treat for eyeballs and eardrums equally.

A film like this makes me think of my own life choices.It starts out like a painting that comes to life, set in the ancient port town of Cherbourg. (I was surprised to read on Wikipedia that a U.S. Civil War battle was fought off its shores.)From the cobblestone streets to the jewel-box storefronts to the grease monkeys at Guy's garage, this film is a joy to behold. And with Michel LeGrand's score, a delight to listen to. As a Francophile, I wish I could find a copy of its script. I enjoyed the crisp simplicity of the entirely sung dialogue.Adding to the satisfying unity of "Parapluies" is its perfect casting.Catherine Deneuve convinces as a rebellious daughter, infatuated teen, and bemused unwed woman with child. Her own mother, played fascinatingly by Anne Vernon, probably experienced the same type of out-of-wedlock pregnancy as her daughter does. Clearly, Mme. Emery is attracted to M. Cassard, yet her sole conscious wish is for the security of her only child. The mother-daughter relationship here is one of almost-total miscomprehension. Cassard (a dapper Marc Michel) is interesting to watch as the wealthy, somewhat bloodless suitor who actually travels with a crown, ready-made, to place on his lady love's head!Nino Castelnuovo is superb as Guy, along with Ellen Farner as Madeleine. I enjoyed the range that Castelnuovo demonstrated, going from carefree lover to ready-to-serve draftee, to depressed and acting-out Algerian War vet. The conversation between Guy and Madeleine, prior to marriage, is one of stunningly convincing depth, though its words are few.Of course, the final scene of this film is unforgettable. I've seen "Parapluies" no fewer than five times and this viewing I cried perhaps more than ever, due to evermore bittersweet experience of my own under my belt. Its tunes and melodies soothe and inspire!