Review of The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964) by Michael T — 04 Aug 2013

Jacques Demy sets a new benchmark for classical musical: a clichéd plot will always hold people's hearts tightly if you manage to add appropriate seasonings, like colour and casting. Demy's attempt not only faded Mary Poppins's magic for being too childish, but also made An American Paris and Gigi's sweeps at Oscar retarded and even scandalous.

Even for My Fair Lady of the same year, the ever-elegant Audrey Hepburn can only tie with the glamarous Catherine Deneuve, the first lady of France. The purgatory in front of the gas station could no way be less prolonging in one's heart than the heaven between trashes.

With the help of Michel Legrand's well-known theme, Jacques Demy and Catherine Deneuve earned themselves immortality in world cinema.