In 1957 France a 17 year old shop girl (Catherine Deneuve) is in love with a gas station worker (Nino Castelnuovo). Her mother is totally against the romance. He's called off to serve in the war for two years. They must part but have sex before he leaves. Then she discovers she's pregnant...

Sounds terrible but it isn't. All the dialogue is sung and the film is done in just breathtaking color--all the sets are decorated to take advantage of this. The colors just leap out at you and some of the scenes are unbelievably beautiful. The musical score is haunting and Deneuve (who became known by this film) and Castelnuovo make a very attractive, sympathetic couple.

The film is just gorgeous--I can't stress enough how beautiful it is and the music (especially the title theme) is so moving. It all leads up to a finale that has me crying every single time I see it. It IS a happy ending (sort of) but the emotions of the two characters really tear you apart.

The acting is good, the film moves quickly (90 minutes) and--quite simply--this is one of the best foreign films ever made. It's not for everybody but if you're a romantic (like me) you'll love it. But be warned--have PLENTY of tissue handy for the end. I've seen it four times and I STILL cry at the end! A definite must see. A 10+.

I still can't believe that I LOVED a film in which EVERY line of dialog was sung by the actors! When I first heard about this, I was VERY hesitant to watch, but decided to give it a shot. After all, I really like French films.

The story concerns the love between a young girl and her slightly older boyfriend who is called up for military service. Can their love survive the many obstacles in its way? --Other than that, I'd rather not reveal the plot or the twists, as I'd hate to spoil it for the reader.

Suffice to say, this is an absolutely beautiful film throughout--especially the incredible cinematography. So beautiful and engaging that I found myself in tears as the movie concluded--and the ending is one of my favorites in film history. This says a lot, as I don't usually find myself so affected by movies. Have some Kleenex handy!

I love musical films and movies with romance, so The Umbrellas of Cherbourg when I first saw it a year ago was more than ideal. I loved it then, and since then I've seen it many times and find something new to love about it each time. It is such a beautiful movie, in the gorgeous music- one of my favourite movie musical scores actually-, the colourful visuals, the charming and touching(if slightly convoluted occasionally)story and Catherine Deneuve at her most irresistible. And it is also a unique one, not only in the sparkling sung dialogue but in how it's sung too, it always surprises me at how interesting the singing is and how the singing is done. The cast are uniformly excellent, though it is Deneuve that makes The Umbrellas of Cherbourg so good, the film moves quickly and the direction is sharp. All in all, a real bon-bon of a movie. 10/10 Bethany Cox