Review: Parapluies de Cherbourg, Les (1964)
Dragan Antulov
(THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG)
A Film Review
Copyright Dragan Antulov 2003
There are various ways in which different people's worldviews could be put
in clearly defined categories, but the simplest and the sharpest is the one
that
separates people into hopeless romantics and cynical realists. It is hard to
imagine those two worldviews being reconciled, especially not in the works
of art, which overwhelmingly tend to adopt first category. But such works of
art can be created, including movies. LES PARAPLUIES DE CHERBOURG,
1964 French musical by Jacques Demy, reconciles romanticism and realism
on various levels.
The plot begins in French port city of Cherbourg in November 1957. 16-year
old Genevieve Emery (played by Catherine Denevue) and young auto
mechanic Guy (played by Nino Castelnouvo) are madly in love with each
other. Their happiness is shattered when Guy gets drafted and later sent to
fight in Algerian War. Few months later it turns out that Genevieve is
pregnant with Guy. This is terrible news to Mme. Emery (played by Anne
Vernon), Genevieve's mother who had never approved of the affair and
whose umbrella shop business is failing. The possible rescue comes in the
form of Roland Cassard (played by Marc Michel), rich gem dealer who falls
in love with Genevieve and wants to marry her, regardless of her condition.
With Guy writing less and less frequently from the front, Genevieve is
forced
to make painful decision -- to stay loyal to the man she loves or to secure
her
family's well-being.
LES PARAPLUIES DE CHERBOURG is not like the other films, and even the
least experienced viewer could notice it first hand. The entire dialogue in
the
film is sung; not just the words in which characters express their feelings,
but
also the most ordinary and banal lines about filling tanks. At first, this
might
seem bizarre, but it doesn't take long for the viewer to be sucked into the
world of this film, which is both surreal and something most of us can
easily
relate to. One of the reasons for this could be found in the excellent
musical
score by Michel Legrand -- the notes follow the dialogue and plot in perfect
harmony and the limited number of themes is used for the entire film
without any of them being repetitive. Because of that, Legrand's score
should
be regarded as the one most effective in the history of cinema.
Another reason why LES PA PARAPLUIES DE CHERBOURG is both
realistic and romanticist could be found in the way Demy uses production
design, costumes and colours. In the first segments of film, those that
depict
Guy's and Genevieve's happiness, port city of Cherbourg is transformed into
magical place with the Jean Rabier's cinematography. Even when our
protagonists' fortune changes, the scenery looks prettier than the mood of
the
film -- in this way Demy wants to remind the each viewer of his/her tendency
to remember only the good things of the past. But Demy in the same time
hints of the dark side of Cherbourg -- prostitution and other forms of social
pathology you could find in port city. Algerian War subplot also brings
extra
layer of realism and reminds audience that people's best years could be
ruined by the events beyond their control and comprehension.
Conflict between hopeless romanticism, embodied in Guy's and Genevieve's
almost suicidal devotion to each other, and cynical realism, embodied in
cold
financial calculations of Genevieve's mother, isn't as severe as you could
expect in the works of less talented directors. Demy's heart is obviously on
the side of young lovers, but he is quite aware of this world's realities;
this
film lacks villains. Even those who stand in the way of young lover's
happiness are anything but evil -- Mme. Emery wants nothing else but secure
good life for her daughter, probably motivated by choosing heart over reason
in her youth and learning to regret it later; Roland Cassard wants to buy
the
love of his life not only with money, but with emotional sacrifice few men
are
able to withstand. In the second part of the film even Demy shows that the
obstacles in the way of young lover's happiness wouldn't be just external,
but
also psychological. People, just like everything else, change; they die,
they go
away or they fall in and fall out of love.
Bittersweet ending, on the other hand, reconciles ideals of heart and
reason.
It shows that love itself can't guide people through life, but it is that
very
same love that gives the life some purpose -- even when it is reduced to
nothing more than nostalgic remembrance of youth. Because of its simple,
but effective and universal message that transcends cultures and
generations,
LES PARAPLUIES DE CHERBOURG would find its audience even among
the grandchildren of those who had watched it in 1960s.
RATING: 9/10 (++++)
Review written on August 3rd 2003
Dragan Antulov a.k.a. Drax
http://film.purger.com - Filmske recenzije na hrvatskom/Movie Reviews in
Croatian
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X-RT-RatingText: 9/10