The Umbrellas of Cherbourg

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, directed by Jacques Demy and released in 1964, is a new wave musical that is also part of a trilogy. This film sets between the Young Girls of Rochefort and Lola; both of which were also directed by Demy. Stylistically, the film is extremely vivid; almost to the point of distraction. Every scene throughout the film is filled with extremely vivid colors. Each set design is filled with very bright red, green, and blue colors on the walls. Each character complements the vivid scenery as well. The women in the film are dressed in very bright dresses with bright makeup and lipstick. However, their dress colors often go against the color scheme of the set which only enhances an already vivid film.

As a musical, the film moves in a very peculiar way. There is absolutely no regular dialogue spoken in the entire film. Every word of every line that each character has is sung rather than spoken. Granted that the film is obviously a musical, there are other musicals that do incorporate even a little spoken dialogue between characters.

However, the narrative does stand up against the odd formula the film follows. This is only because the ending of the film does not necessarily the eerie jubilant feeling the film has even during the 'depressing' moments. In the final scene of the film, Guy is asked by his former love if he wants to meet his daughter that he has with her, he simply declined. Roll Credits.