Sunday, June 4, 2017

Jeff's #77: The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (Jacques Demy, 1964)

#77: The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (Jacques Demy, 1964)


I've been struggling to write about this.  I re-watched most of it a few weeks ago and had to turn it off.  It just hit too close to home.  I don't know if there's a better film to capture the devastating loss of love and the bittersweetness with which we muse on it years later.  In my mind, it stands alongside Tom Waits' "Martha" as one of the greatest artistic representations of a doomed but never forgotten love affair. The fact that this entirely sung, candy colored musical is too emotionally overwhelming to watch during a difficult time is a testament to its surprising power and why it deserves to be on my list.  Even though I couldn't finish it, I knew it had me spellbound the same way when I first saw it. What begins as a stylistic gimmick slowly morphs into this melancholic onslaught of sorrow and regret.  It just floors you.

In an unrelated sidenote - I will be moving to Binghamton in a couple weeks.  Brandon's gonna put me up for a few weeks, and I'll be working at the Garage.  Looking forward to being closer to everyone again.  Hopefully we can all catch a movie and a beer soon.

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