The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964) Film Discussion

For our first meet up of the year we'll discuss The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964), the dazzling musical from Jacques Demy which launched Catherine Deneuve to stardom.

Deneuve plays Geneviève, who glows with first love for a handsome mechanic named Guy (played by Nino Castelnuovo) whilst working in an umbrella shop in Cherbourg. When Guy is sent off to fight in Algeria, the two lovers must grow up quickly.

Exquisitely designed in a kaleidoscope of colors, and told entirely through lilting songs by the great composer Michel Legrand, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg is one of the most revered and unorthodox movie musicals of all time.

"Demy, his cinematographer Jean Rabier and production designer Bernard Evein created an operatic masterpiece of romanticism, which makes a modest but effective antidote to the harsh era of cynicism that has pervaded world cinema ever since."

The film is available to rent on Apple TV.