The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (Les parapluies de Cherbourg)

Jacques Demy’s haunting romantic musical is an enchanting, one-of-a-kind experience. With a dazzling candy-colored palette, the film is basically a movie operetta, with the characters singing all the dialogue to Michel Legrand’s lovely score. The story spans five years (1957-1962) in the life of Geneviéve (Catherine Deneuve, in the role that launched her to international stardom), the teenage daughter of a woman who owns a Cherbourg umbrella shop. After Geneviéve's boyfriend, Guy (Nino Castelnuovo), is drafted and sent off to Algeria, she discovers she’s pregnant and complications ensue.

Reviewing the film in 2004 – 40 years after its original release – the Los Angeles Times’ Kevin Thomas wrote: “‘The Umbrellas of Cherbourg’ has stood the test of time as beautifully as Deneuve and seems likely to enchant future generations as fully as it has audiences over the past four decades.” The Washington Post’s Desson Howe was similarly effusive in his praise: “‘Umbrellas’ never feels constricting or clumsy, thanks to Michel Legrand’s lilting, dynamic score, the movie’s vivid colors and an unforgettable love story. Once you settle into its special rhythms, it feels as normal as breathing. This adult fairy tale is as delicate and vibrant as its star, the young Catherine Deneuve.”