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Directed by: Jacques Demy Starring: Catherine Deneuve, Nino Castelnuovo You know how Andrew Lloyd Webber tries to squeeze ordinary dialogue into song lyrics and half the time it ends up sounding really awkward? That's how this whole movie is. But the difference is that they didn't even try to make it lyrical. All the dialogue is ordinary speech, except it's sung. No attempt at rhyme or lyricism or musical structure. It's very odd to witness. And while I "get it" (or at least I think I do) it's not especially interesting or fun. Slightly charming at first, irritating after a while. The story itself is mundane and predictable, and a lame story with a quirky gimmick is still a lame story. RATING: 3 PROS: unusual gimmick CONS: all about the gimmick ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0058450/
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Jan 22, 2005 20:18
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| # ? Apr 27, 2024 10:31 |
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As someone who has experienced young, difficult love, this movie was particularly moving to me. While I could imagine the movie would seem cliched, trite, and gimmicky to some viewers, to those who have shared the experiences of the cast this movie will seem extremely poignant. It certainly lives up to it's original tagline, "Dedicated to All the Young Lovers of the World". The movie opens on a happy note, with bright, uptempo jazz music and sharp, vivid colors, but quickly turns on a down note as the young lovers Genevieve(Deneuve) and Guy(Castelnuovo) begin hitting troubles in their relationship. The first act closes with what is perhaps the best character theme (Legrand's theme for Genevieve, "I Will Wait For You") in any movie I have encountered. The second act centers around Genevieve as she struggles with her fading love for Guy. A new romantic interest presents itself, further deepening her confusion and loss of emotional center. The color in this act remains bright, even as the music becomes chaotic, slow, and emotionally scattered. Even Roland Cassard's theme "Recit de Cassard" feels ominous in this section. The third, and final, act centers around Guy's return and his inability to adjust to his new, unfortunate life. This can be the most melancholy or most uplifting part of the movie, depending on one's own viewpoint. One is given a lot of options as far as interpreting the outcome of Guy and Genevieve's sad story. Personally, I chose to look at the ending as full of regret for Genevieve, and full of happiness for Guy. Les Parapluies de Cherbourg is easily one of the best scored movies I have ever seen. Although a lot of people feel the plot is cliched, this movie excels at displaying all of the emotions and angst of young, troubled love, and in so doing draws these emotions from the viewer. It is perhaps the best depiction of young, star-crossed love that I have come across. The only fault I can find with this movie is that the edit is noticably bad, to the point where several parts are ruined due to faulty editing. Rating: 5\5 Pros: Excellent music, cinematography, setting Cons: Poor editing, emotionally manipulative at points, dialogue is occassionally stretched to fit the music. Fun Fact: The only real "antagonist" of this movie, if you can even call him one, is Roland Cassard, who was the main character of an earlier Demy work, "Lola". He reprises the role and even relates his story from the previous movie.
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Jul 25, 2006 04:47
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