Revisiting: The Style and Romance of ‘The Umbrellas of Cherbourg’

Courtesy of the Criterion Collection.

Nearly six decades after its release, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg continues to carry its legacy as one of history's most romantic films. Directed by French New Wave filmmaker Jacques Demy, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg tells the story of ill-fated young love in a French coastal town during the years of the Algerian War. Catherine Deneuve and Nino Castelnuovo portray the movie's central couple in the roles of Geneviève and Guy, two beautiful creatures whose chemistry contributes immensely to the passionate tones of the film. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg reflects Demy's unique sensibilities for color and production design, with the film's gorgeous palette of colors and innovative camera work having informed other filmmakers in the years since its release. Influenced by the spectacle of classic Hollywood musicals but injected with a sense of artistry and nuanced storytelling indicative of the French New Wave, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg is a stunningly inventive musical film that will forever uphold its standing as a romantic vision of Demy's filmmaking.

Courtesy of the Criterion Collection.

Part I: The Departure

Guy and Geneviève are a blossoming young couple falling in love in the French port city of Cherbourg. Both beautiful and optimistic, the duo dreams of a future where they can be married and live out their days together. Guy works as a mechanic hoping to one day open his own automotive repair shop, and Geneviève is a store clerk at the umbrella shop owned by her overbearing mother. The two nurture and expand their connection until Guy is called to serve his mandatory military service on the frontlines of the Algerian War. Guy and Geneviève are heartbroken by the news but promise one another to keep their love alive while Guy is at war with the plan to resume their romance upon his return. 

Part II: The Absence

Shortly after Guy's departure, Geneviève finds out she is pregnant with his child. Under the strong influence of her domineering mother, who disapproves of Guy, Geneviève decides to leave their love behind when she receives a proposal from a wealthy and worldly jeweler. Dismissing her passionate love for Guy, Geneviève forfeits herself to the social norms of the times that pushed women to seek stability over desire. Geneviève stops answering Guy's letters and moves away from Cherbourg with her new husband.

Part III: The Return

Two years later, Guy returns from Algeria to find Geneviève's family umbrella shop closed and learns that his former love has left Cherbourg behind. When Guy's ailing aunt, who raised him, passes away shortly after, he is left broken and aimless, disillusioned by his wartime traumas and Geneviève abandoning him. At his lowest low, Guy chooses to focus his energy on making his dream of opening an auto shop of his own and seeks comfort in the arms of his aunt's former caretaker, Madeline, who always secretly adored him. 

The years go by, and Guy accomplishes his goals and begins a family of his own with Madeline. Then, one snowy night near Christmas, Guy is at his shop when a flashy car pulls up to be serviced. The vehicle belongs to Geneviève, now rich and mature, who is visiting Cherbourg for the first time since she left. The two immediately recognize each other, and Guy invites Geneviève into the shop and out of the cold. They chat for a moment, catching up on lost time, and Geneviève points out the young girl sitting in the car, assumedly the child Guy sired years before. Geneviève asks Guy if he would like to meet the girl, but he declines. The two share a reflective glance before Geneviève returns to her car to leave Cherbourg again, accepting the decisions that diverted their paths in life away from one another forever.

Courtesy of the Criterion Collection.

The Style:

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg has a prestigious standing in cinema history largely due to its exuberant and colorful stylistic approach. As a filmmaker, Demy was well known for his strong visual style. During this era of Demy's career, many of his films seemed influenced by the bold, bright colors associated with the art and culture of the 1960s. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg utilizes many rich and vibrant colors in interiors and exteriors, often providing pops of contrast that elevate the film out of everyday reality, despite the movie's relatable conflicts. Demy's sensibilities for combining colors and patterns set him apart from other filmmakers of the French New Wave, who often focused on different factors to express their visions.

The style with which Demy approaches the concept of a musical film also sets The Umbrellas of Cherbourg apart in the history of cinema. Demy respected the classic musicals of Hollywood but wished to combine their best elements with his own approach to filmmaking to make musical films with deeper profundity and more nuanced narratives. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg was scored by the renowned Michel Legrand, who earned an Oscar nomination for his efforts. Legrand's score runs continuously throughout the film, dynamically matching the emotional highs and lows of the story. Matching the continuous score is the film's script, which is entirely sung-through from start to finish. This lack of dialogue contributes to the film's operatic qualities and heightens the significance of the movie's songs and score, enticing audiences and bringing them into Demy's jewel-toned musical world.

Courtesy of the Criterion Collection.

The Romance:

The passionate romance expressed through The Umbrellas of Cherbourg is essentially beyond compare. This film is the second installment of Demy's unofficial "romantic trilogy," between 1961's Lola and 1967's The Young Girls of Rochefort. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg's central romance between the characters of Geneviève and Guy begins with such a beautiful optimism and potency that viewers can associate with the most passionate of young romantic flings. Although their fate takes them in different directions, Geneviève and Guy's story is still profoundly moving and simultaneously heartbreaking. 

The tear-jerking romance of The Umbrellas of Cherbourg was widely celebrated when the film was released in 1964; The film won the Palme d'Or at Cannes that year before receiving five nominations at the 38th Academy Awards. In the years since The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, Demy's exquisite work has inspired and informed many artists and filmmakers, most prominently Damien Chazelle's critically hailed 2016 film La La Land.