The Umbrellas of Cherbourg

A 2024 restoration of the original 1964 negative, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg is that rarity — a key work of cinema that transformed the art. Not only did Jacques Demy succeed in making a movie with colors so astonishing that one critic called it “a singing Matisse,” but the dialogue is completely “sung” in recitative, something that had not been done before. The story is one of first love, amplified by color and music that deepen its heartbeat. Umbrellas won the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 1964, received five Oscar nominations, and made a global celebrity of its young star, Catherine Deneuve.