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THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG (1964, Jacques Demy)
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The musical genre peaks with The Umbrellas Of Cherbourg, a cinematic confection that looks sweet on the surface but has a bitter taste at its centre. A 20-year-old Catherine Deneuve stars as Genevieve, a teenager who works in her mother’s umbrella shop and who wants to marry her working-class lover, Guy (Nino Castelnuovo). But Genevieve’s mother won’t allow it, and when Guy is drafted into the army the lovers part, hoping one day to reunite. The entire dialogue is sung, or rather lip-synched by the cast to Michel Legrand’s mellifluous score. That may sound off-putting, but it’s actually lovely to feel bathed in the honeyed language and melodies of love. Screening with Wim Wender’s classic existentialist odyssey, Wings Of Desire. (Wednesday, May 15, Revue)
INGRID RANDOJA
bathe in song
