The Umbrellas of Cherbourg

Historical Markers of the Modern Soundtrack

Developed for RMIT Media Arts

Profile: JACQUES DEMY

Part of the French New Wave, though did not make films with as overt a political form as Godard et al. Born 1931. Married Agnes Varda (another New Wave director). Films: LOLA (60 - a 'prequel' to UMBRELLAS); BAY OF ANGELS (62); UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG (63); THE YOUNG GIRLS OF ROCHEFORT (66 - a `sequel' to UMBRELLAS); THE MODEL SHOP (68 - first & last film in Hollywood); DONKEY SKIN (70); THE PIED PIPER (71 - English production); AN EVENT MORE IMPORTANT THAN MAN'S LANDING ON THE MOON (73); LADY OSCAR (73 - a Japanese coproduction based on a popular Japanese comic which is set in the French revolution); DAYBREAK (80); A BEDROOM IN TOWN (82); AROUND 3 IN THE AFTERNOON (89).

The early musicals constitute the general slant of Demy's directorial style, with UMBRELLAS being perhaps the best example. He often worked with the same set designer/art-director Bernard Erein, and the same composer/musical-director Michel Legrand. These musicals (fairly unconventional in form considering how far- they go with song and dance) are heavily influenced by the MGM musicals by Stanley Donen, Gene Kelly and Vincent Minelli from the late 40s into the mid 50s. As such, Demy is regarded as a `metteur en scene' - someone who manipulates the plastic elements of the cinematic construction to convey the narrative slant and style of the film.

A quote from Demy: "To me the screen is essentially pictorial and musical. The camera picks out significant details in a story and gives them emotional emphasis. Musical dialogue does the same thing in the dramatic conflict of characters or in the interior conflict of a single character."

Close analysis

What follows are some points for consideration concerning how the construction of song, dance and music constitute the narrative of the film (especially considering that there is no spoken dialogue in the film).

1. Deneuve looking directly to the camera in relation to accompanying musical theme. This has the effect of us being projected directly into Deneuve's mind, as if we are reading her mind and hearing its musical contents. Melodies often function throughout the film as the content of a character's thoughts.

2. Roland Cassard's flashback (which is a recreation of the identical scene from LOLA) where melodies of the past are evoked. Melodies are often used to typify or represent a solid impression left in the mind (a memory of a person, a time, a place, etc.). This means that the melody is the actual content of what is in a character's mind, as opposed to a musical theme being used to symbolize a state of the character's mind.

3. Rhythmic editing (metronomic) to symbolize sexual intercourse. A different temporal sensibility governs the physical act of sex, as opposed to the musical-time flow which is more attached to the emotional flow of the characters.

4. Characters moving on unseen wheeled platforms symbolizing the feeling of being in love (visual counter part to `sweeping violins' cliche). This is a spatial-kinetic mechanism employed to symbolize a character being swept away by their emotional state and the accompanying music.

5. Lack of dissolves and ellipses within scenes as the scenes are defined musically not visually (time and space are defined by the musical numbers themselves).

6. Jump cuts that follow the `void space' of moving from one piece of music to the next. This is because, once again, music and melody are the controllers of the narative flow and the determining factors which shape plot events.

7. Operatic scenes: full of condensed symbolism and fragmented gestures that follow the musical intensity. Note how the timing and sequencing of their gestures and their dialogue is largely determined by the phrasing of the melodies. Note how key changes of the melody correspond changes in dramatic and emotional intensity.

8. Fusion of realism (acting performance) with musicality (operatic soundtrack) in contrast to the lyric drama of WEST SIDE STORY - ie. the body movement, posture and overall presence of actors in UMBRELLAS is quite naturalistic despite the fact that they are singing.

9. The emphasis on melody as opposed to themes. Note how the melody is continually playing (orchestrally) and whenever a character 'speak-sings' they sing whatever notes are happening with the ongoing melody.

10. The relationship between melody and wallpaper: both are 'ambient' elements which are repeated and patterned in a fashion to make up a flow of music (the modulating melodic unit) and a wash of colour (the sequencing of the visual pattern).

Text © Philip Brophy.