Umbrellas of Cherbourg

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Umbrellas of Cherbourg ★★★½ Les Parapluies de Cherbourg; Die Regenschirme von Cherbourg 1964

A bittersweet film operetta with no spoken dialog. Genevieve (Deneuve) is the teenaged daughter of a widow (Vernon) who owns an umbrella shop. She and her equally young boyfriend Guy (Castelnuovo) are separated by his military duty in Algeria. Finding she is pregnant, Genevieve marries the wealthy Roland (Michel), and when her former lover returns, he too marries someone else. But when they meet once again will their love be rekindled? Lovely photography and an evocative score enhance the story. French with subtitles; also available dubbed in English (not with the same effectiveness). 90m/C VHS, DVD . FR Catherine Deneuve, Nino Castelnuovo, Anne Vernon, Ellen Farner, Marc Michel, Mireille Perrey, Jean Champion, Alfred Wolff, Dorothee Blanck; D: Jacques Demy; W: Jacques Demy; C: Jean Rabier; M: Michel Legrand. Cannes ‘64: Film.

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