The Umbrellas of Cherbourg

Jacques Demy revived the operatic artform and introduced the world to French film star Catherine Denueve in his tour-de-force musical The Umbrellas of Cherbourg. Geneviève (Catherine Denueve), the teenage daughter of a widowed umbrella shop owner, and Guy (Nino Castelnuovo), a handsome mechanic, fall in love in late 1950s France. When Guy is drafted to serve for two years in the Algerian War, he and Geneviève’s relationship is drastically cut short forcing them to make an irreversible decision. Told in three parts, Demy’s vision of young love is filled with a wondrous, candy-colored palette rendering each frame bittersweet.