The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, the colors of rainy days and blue skies

To be honest, I would be the first person to say that I don't like musicals, with some exceptions. Music scenes bother me and I'm too impatient, even though I really enjoy listening to them. Recently, I tried to reconcile with them. It therefore seemed necessary to me to see the immense classic that is The Umbrellas of Cherbourg by Jacques Demy, whom Rosalie Varda describes as “an enchanting, enchanted radical filmmaker”.

As soon as the film begins, soft music announces a session of poetry but also sadness. A long shot on a river, then we enter the first phase, which confuses happiness and heartbreak: “le départ”.

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg is a film in three acts but each of these three acts follows each other in a fluid and logical way. They show us that a relationship has stages, and that sometimes loving each other doesn't change things. These three parts give a theatrical dimension making it possible to punctuate the film according to its melodies, changing but not so different.

The music, which could have seemed boring as it has been the case for me with other films, did not leave me with that feeling at all here. Michel Legrand's melodies perfectly describe this colorful love story, with a thousand nuances. It gives us chills, and leaves us with the impression that emotions are reaching for our hearts accross the screen, sometimes breaking it, sometimes healing it.

"Guy (speaking of Algeria in his letter to Geneviève): Last night a patrol fell into an ambush and three soldiers died. I do not believe, however, that the danger here is great, but, it is strange, the sun and death travel together."

But it is also a touching and realistic love story. Because if the enchanted dialogues make us think that everything is idealized, the ending proves the opposite. Sometimes life comes back at us, putting an end to everything we had ever hoped for. There is here the Algerian war, because of which Guy must leave, a context which wants nothing other than heartbreak and reality. How would it be possible to deny the devastating aspect of this war? The Umbrellas of Cherbourg are only an observation that love, of course, is stronger than everything but also that to love is to accept that we are not the masters of destiny. This sometimes gets in our way because life goes on, events follow one another, and we can only wait and observe, as shown in the second part: “l'absence”, the perfect representation of missing someone.

I couldn't talk about a Jacques Demy film without praising the colors of his work, which could come straight out of a fairy tale. We know that classic musicals often stand out for their bright, joyful colors, but Jacques Demy's are a whole different palette. They blend into the story. They carry feelings, imagination and meaning. As Geneviève says goodbye to Guy on the station platform (a memorable scene, which I will remember for the rest of my life), the colors become dull, a sign of a heartbreaking separation and ultimately announcing the end of their relationship. Blues, yellows and pinks merge with gray and darkened tones showing war, grayness. But we also follow the two lovers through the seasons, while the snow falls in the last part we understand that a year ends with winter, and this film will also end with winter. But this season is also the beginning of a year, it therefore marks a transition towards something else, another life, another future, whether for Geneviève or for Guy.

In addition, Catherine Deneuve is wonderful in her role as Geneviève, an assertive and modern young woman. Her love for Guy does not hold her back, despite her sadness at his departure. She knows what she wants, accepts the course of life and above all, chooses what is best for her. As a leading actress, she shines and grows into a reality-aware and self-confident woman.

"Madame Emery: What did you do?

Geneviève: Mom! He's leaving, he's leaving for two years. I couldn't live without him. I will die from it.

Madame Emery: Don’t cry! Look at me. You only die of love in the cinema."

In The Umbrellas of Cherbourg , Jacques Demy writes a love letter to cinema and music. And we can’t help but fall in love with it too. From shot to shot and throughout the sung dialogues, we feel the exaltation of first love and the sweet tragedy of romance. Each image, each more splendid than the other, makes us want to capture them in our mind to see them forever. I must admit that, if my life could resemble a film, I would like it to be a Jacques Demy film.