Jacques Demy Brightens the Screen with Umbrellas

 

                A lyrical, deeply moving and seminal work from 1960’s cinema, writer/director Jacques Demy’s The Umbrellas of Cherbourg from 1964 details the forlorn tale of two young lovers in three acts set from 1957-1963 with heartbreaking clarity. Taking on the musical genre in revolutionary fashion, Demy opts to unfold the story solely through the use of music and lyrics, forgoing spoken dialogue. Although this choice could render the movie as too artificial and/or gimmicky in nature, the simple but moving plot concocted by Demy, blended with a truly beautiful, inventive score by Michel Legrand set against lush on-location color cinematography by Jean Rabier proves completely captivating to willing viewers eager to become enmeshed in the film’s ultra-romantic, heartfelt and penetrating world. An impeccable cast, including the ethereally lovely Catherine Deneuve in her star-making role as Geneviève Émery, an equally alluring and touching Nino Castelnuovo as Guy Foucher, her true love and Anne Vernon as Geneviève’s worldly-wise mother, Madame Émery, bring rich characters to life with color and truth, helping the talented Demy to bring his challenging, creative endeavor to fruition with taste and conviction that leaves a lasting impression on audiences.

                Starting his film career at 29 during the onslaught of the French New Wave, Demy gained notice immediately as writer/director with his first feature, the romantic drama Lola, followed by the equally compelling Bay of Angels in 1963. Both showed Demy’s talent for vividly capturing the proper mise-en-scène for each carefully composed shot, as well as his skill in allowing the actors to work at their creative best, specifically Lola and Angels stars Anouk Aimée and Jeanne Moreau, respectively. Demy would utilize the skills he’d developed in these initial movies to reach an artistic triumph with his imaginative and focused helming of Umbrellas. Showcasing Deneuve and Castelnuovo as the ideal ultra-romantic couple, Demy powerfully illustrates Geneviève and Guy’s affair through the use of vibrant color visual designs and Legrand’s penetrating score, specifically using the haunting theme (“I Will Wait For You”) repeatedly to more impactful effect as fate plays a hand in the relationship, such as in a wrenching train station farewell and the movie’s unforgettable finale, which assures Umbrella will linger in memory for a viewer, with Demy making penetrating use of those lush musical strains and a melancholic atmosphere. After this peak, Demy would continue to turn out fanciful-yet-ambitious original works, following Umbrellas for the lighter-in-tone musical The Young Girls of Rochefort with Deneuve starring alongside her sister Françoise Dorléac, finishing the decade with the L.A. based Model Shop then returning to more fantastical fare and witnessing his biggest hit via Donkey Skin, with Deneuve in Cinderella mode. Demy proffered another notable achievement with 1982’s Une chambre en ville, before ending his filmography on yet another musical note with 1988’s Trois places pour le 26, shortly before his death in 1990 at 59.

                For Catherine Deneuve, Umbrellas would elevate her to major stardom as one of the leading players in French cinema, a position she upholds to this day. Debuting in films as a teen in 1957, Deneuve bided her time until Demy matched her up with one of her most iconic characters and, with her porcelain features and fragile, sensitive demeanor, Deneuve fills the roll of Geneviève with a subtleness and gentleness that makes a viewer emphasize with her and want to protect her from any cruel fate life throws her way. With Castelnuovo, she encapsulates an idealized version of young lovers that perfectly suits Demy’s ultra-romantic vision, making them one of the enduring couples found in 1960’s movies. After Umbrellas, Deneuve’s reputation as a gifted, instinctive screen performance would quickly grow with her stark work in 1965’s thriller Repulsion and daring, bewitching turn in Luis Buñuel’s erotically charged Belle de Jour, the same year she shown bright in a lighter vein reteaming with Demy for Rochefort. Occasionally Deneuve would work on an international scale in films such as Mayerling, The April Fools, Hustle and as a beautiful vampire in 1983’s intriguing The Hunger but primarily continue as the leading female star of French movies, with 1980’s The Last Metro and finally gaining an Oscar nomination for 1992’s epic-scale Indochine among her significant endeavors. Deneuve entered the 2000s with devastatingly effective, emotionally shattering work as Kathy in Lars von Trier’s profoundly dramatic musical Dancer in the Dark, then led an imposing cast of top female stars in 2002’s 8 Women. Further onscreen success showcasing Deneuve’s undiminished mastery of her craft include 2008’s satisfying A Christmas Tale and highly praised turns in 2013’s On My Way and 2023’s Bernadette.

Umbrellas would grant Italian-born Nino Castelnuovo the role to ensure his legacy in the annuals of film history. Starting his movie career in 1956, Castelnuovo garnered pre-Umbrellas attention primarily from an appearance in another major work of the period, Luchino Visconti’s Rocco and His Brothers from 1960, then out of left field appeared opposite Annette Funicello on the Disneyland television series. With his amiable, wide-eyed innocence, mixed with a more subdued quality as things become more dire, and one of the most exquisite visages ever seen on the screen, Castelnuovo is fortuitously cast as Guy, bringing exactly the right qualities of joy and sadness to the role, while interacting with Deneuve with sincerity and focus, allowing Guy to become a highly sympathetic figure a viewer wants to see content and happy with Geneviève. Castelnuovo seemed destined for a great career as a top leading man after his breakthrough in Umbrellas; however, despite his affinity for the camera as an actor and movie star looks to rival any of his contemporaries, Castelnuovo’s filmography would witness hit-and-miss results as he toiled in movies and television, with a small part in 1996’s Oscar-winning The English Patient among his most high profile appearances in the medium before his death in 2021 at age 84.

As Madame Émery, Geneviève’s knowing, practical mother who runs the umbrella shop responsible for the film’s title, Anne Verdon brings understanding and sophistication to the role that allows the audience to grasp her motivations as, even when the character is working against her daughter’s bond with Guy, Vernon clearly conveys the concern and compassion Madame Émery holds towards Geneviève as she strives to secure a rewarding future for her offspring. As Roland, the suitor who can give Geneviève a better life, Marc Michel is earnest and benevolent recreating his role from Demy’s Lola, the title character of whom Roland refers as his lost love in Umbrellas, in a prime example of how Demy would allow aspects from his different films to merge together in a storyline. Finally, in the other chief role of Madeliene, who quietly and loyally pines for Guy until fate steps in, Ellen Farner brings a touching vulnerability and pensiveness to her movie debut, the key entry in her brief filmography. 

Released in February of 1964 in France, Umbrellas of Cherbourg would find great favor with both cinemagoers and the critics, with a win of the elite Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival that year helping Demy’s masterwork reach a global audience. This wide exposure allowed Umbrellas to score a rare accomplishment at the Academy Awards, as the movie managed to rate nominations in two years, with placement among the Best Foreign Language Films nominees for 1964, then for the 1965 Oscars gaining four nominations, including ones for Demy for Best Original Screenplay and (with Legrand) for Best Song (“I Will Wait for You”) and Best Music Score- Substantially Original and Legrand solely mentioned as a nominee for Scoring of Music- Adaptation or Treatment. The appeal of Umbrellas has only blossomed with time, with no less than Martin Scorsese a strong advocate of the film’s merits, helping ensure this lovely classic has continued to reach a wealth of new fans through re-releases and restorations, leading up to current excellent physical media releases on Blu-ray and 4K from Criterion and placement at #122 on the most recent esteemed Sight and Sound poll from 2022 of Cinema’s greatest movies; also, although not a Christmas-themed film overall, the finale, indelible scene is set during the yuletide season, helping make this classic an apt choice for a holiday screening.. Umbrellas’ alternately serene and distressing tale of young love at a crossroads, with one of the screen’s most memorable and melodious scores playing out amid the ornately colorful, beautiful backdrop of Cherbourg setting an exemplary romantic tonal for the graceful work of a grand cast, provides beneficial viewing for anyone interested in exploring Demy’s work via one of his most moving and creative offerings.