The meticulous choreography and sumptuous visuals of Jacques Demy’s ‘film in song’, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964), gets a release on fully restored Blu-ray and DVD. Often considered one of the most romantic films ever made, it is at once heart-warming and agonising and always a joy to watch.
Catherine Deneuve stars as Geneviève, an assistant in the eponymous umbrella boutique owned by her mother (Anne Vernon). Geneviève is madly in love with local mechanic Guy (Nino Castelnuovo), who returns her affections but who is, alas, drafted into the French army to serve in the Algerian War. She promises to wait for him, but the mother has plans to fix the daughter up with an eligible bachelor, the wealthy M. Cassard (Marc Michel). Somewhat inevitably, a pregnancy complicates matters.
Taking place in candy-coloured interiors and overcast streets, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg opens in almost sickeningly sweet fashion with every word crooned to Michel Legrand exceptional score. The singing is distracting, at first, but comes to feel pleasantly natural, just as the film transforms into a far more nuanced romance than it initially might appear.
Culminating in a wonderfully poignant scene on the snow-covered forecourt of a petrol station, a perfect balance is struck between the starry-eyed style, the continuous melody, and the realities of love. The performances – especially from Deneuve – manage to convey the achingly bittersweet nature of the story, seamlessly blending sadness and charm into impassioned refrain.
Extras
Released for the film’s 50th anniversary, the disc boasts several impressive extras. Agnès Varda’s feature-length documentary, The World of Jacques Demy (1995), is the standout. Described by its director, who was married to Demy until his death in 1990, as “a casual stroll” rather than a chronological account, it takes in those that knew and worked with Demy.
Additionally, there is a documentary about the film itself, as well as a short piece on the restoration. Further discussion comes in the form of a lengthy audio interview with Catherine Deneuve taken from the BFI Archive, Geoff Andrew’s discussion of The Umbrellas of Cherbourg and Demy’s own special brand of magic. French actress and comedienne, Virginie Ledoyen, also speaks about the film.
A stills gallery and two trailers, one from the original release and one new, round out a veritable feast of additional material.
