The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (Les Parapluies de Cherbourg)
Dir. Jacques Demy, France, 1964, 92 mins
Written by Jacques Demy
Produced by Mag Bodard
Music by Michel Legrand
Cinematography: Jean Rabier
Production design: Bernard Evein
Costume design: Jacqueline Moreau
A love story in France of the late ’50s and early ’60s, during the Algerian War (1954–1962)
FUN FACTS
The film won the Palme d’Or (the highest prize) at Cannes and was nominated for five Academy Awards
Every word of dialogue is sung. There is no spoken dialogue. The actors lip-synced to recordings by professional singers
The film made Catherine Deneuve, 20 at the time of the film’s release, an international star
Cherbourg is an industrial port city in Normandy. Demy and his designers transformed the city with vivid paint, wallpaper, costumes, and carefully coordinated colors
The film’s best-known song became an international hit as “I Will Wait for You”
Demy was married to the New Wave filmmaker Agnès Varda. Both were part of its Left Bank circle
CAST of CHARACTERS
Catherine Deneuve as Geneviève Emery
Nino Castelnuovo as Guy Foucher
Anne Vernon as Madame Emery (Geneviève’s mother)
Marc Michel as Roland Cassard (a wealthy jeweler)
Ellen Farner as Madeleine
Mireille Perrey as Aunt Élise
QUESTIONS for the Worksheet
Color and mise-en-scène. How does Demy use color to tell his story?
How does the music change the way we experience an otherwise simple story?
Camera. How does camera movement create a rhythm?
The film looks like a Hollywood musical (which Demy loved). But its story is a realistic tale of love, war, class, and time. Would you describe the story as romance? Or fantasy? Or tragedy? Why?