70
It takes nerve to make a pic in which all dialog is sung. Also, there is no dancing and this is not a filmed operetta or opera. [review of original release]
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
90
Washington Post by Desson Thomson
Demy, his cinematographer Jean Rabier and production designer Bernard Evein created an operatic masterpiece of romanticism, which makes a modest but effective antidote to the harsh era of cynicism that has pervaded world cinema ever since.
90
A glorious romantic confection unlike any other in movie history.
88
ReelViews by James Berardinelli
Although most movies favor passion and true love, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg shows that another less demanding, more subtle kind of love has its own appeal.
70
Village Voice by Jessica Winter
The wonderful-terrible dervish of Umbrellas reaches peak abandon, worthy of Vincente Minnelli, when Geneviève sobs out a plaint for Guy as a carnival whirls outside the shop.
100
Chicago Reader by Jonathan Rosenbaum
A heartfelt, passionate, tragic musical suite made up of these formulas, which the film both celebrates and wryly examines to discover their inner logic: how they actually work, what they do and don't do.
90
Los Angeles Times by Kevin Thomas
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.
88
Chicago Sun-Times by Roger Ebert
A surprisingly effective film, touching and knowing and, like Deneuve, ageless.
My favorite musical! The use of colors in the film are amazing - especially how the wallpapers of each room coordinate with the actor's costumes in each scene.