Review of The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964) by Sol H — 10 Sep 2008
A masterpiece, pure and simple.
Near the start of the film, we hear a character talk about his distaste for opera and how he prefers movies. This subtle sense of very French humour somewhat sets the tone for the film, at least it's lighter side.
The film itself deals with a very mundane and overall very sad storyline simply about love and a man going off to war only for his girlfriend to marry someone else.
It's the music that elevates it a notch. Whilst the lyrics (and I'm pretty sure this isn't just because I don't speak French) are really nothing special (they don't even rhyme), they just flow like normal dialogue, and at times that's annoying, however, at others, it really just serves to emphasise the emotion at hand.
Something about the film's tone just makes it beautiful. I've heard it refered to as like a fairy tale within the real world, and whilst I can see why people would use this as comparison, I'd say it's more of a dream on the surface and a nightmare underneath. It's quite a bizarre blend of fantasy and underlying sadness. All in all, the film is a beautiful masterpiece. Shame it's French.
Personal enjoyment: 9/10.
Actual quality as a film: 10/10.
This review of The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964) was written by Sol H on 10 Sep 2008.
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg has generally received very positive reviews.
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