THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG

France, 1964, 92 minutes, Colour.
Nino Castelnuovo, Catherine Deneuve, Anne Vernon.
Directed by Jacques Demy.

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (Les Parapluies de Cherbourg) is unusual in so far as there is no spoken dialogue in the film. Every conversation is sung in French. This does not necessarily appeal to everyone and those who are sure they would not like this are best warned away. For those who take to it, they will find it a simple love story, seen hundreds of times yet having something lighter and more delicate about it because of the singing which lengthens the atmosphere, action and feeling of each scene. The film is meant to be pretty, the predominant colours being pink and blue. As might be expected, the postcard looking romance leads to sadness and growing up.

The two principals act well and are attractive enough to carry the (dubbed) singing. Music is by Michel Legrand. A suggestion is offered that a female audience would appreciate the film far more than a male one.

1. The technique of having singing only? Did you accept this at once or did it take some time to get used to? Why did the screenplay adopt this form for the film? How did it make it different in impact from other love stories?

2. Comment on the use of colour in the film. Pink and blue predominated. What impression did this make?

3. Was the film anything more than a pretty love story?

4. What kind of a man was Guy - his personality, work, military service etc.? Did he really love Genevieve? Note the parting scene and the theme music.

5. What kind of a girl was Genevieve - personally, influenced by her mother, her pregnancy etc.? Did she really love Guy?

6. Comment on the influence of her mother's ambitions and genteel aristocracy on Genevieve.

7. Why did Genevieve marry Roland - for love, for security? Did she love him when she met Guy at the end of the film?

8. Comment on the attractiveness and fidelity of Madeline.

9. What should Guy have done when he came back from military service? How did his Aunt's death affect him? Madeline tells him that he should marry a woman who would stand by him so that they could choose freely to do what they wanted.

10. What happiness did each of them find? What was the importance of the sequence of their meeting at the garage? Genevieve, rich and fashionable had her child; Guy, drab, but with his family.

11. How correct would it be to say the film was 'a musical moral fable'?