The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (Les Parapluies de Cherbourg)

Written and directed by Jacques Demy, this 1964 French–West German musical unfolds in the port town of Cherbourg, where young Geneviève helps her mother run a small umbrella shop. She is in love with Guy, a garage mechanic, and the two dream of marrying, but their future collapses when he is called up for military service in the Algerian War. Structured in three movements built around departure, absence and return, the story ends in a wistful encounter years later. Catherine Deneuve and Nino Castelnuovo play the lovers, and every exchange in the film, down to the most trivial small talk, is delivered as sung recitative over Michel Legrand's score, whose main theme became internationally famous as "I Will Wait for You." Candy-bright studio sets and matching costumes fuse Hollywood musical tradition with New Wave attitudes, while the story keeps one foot in everyday economic and social reality. The picture made Deneuve a star in her first major role and stands between Demy's Lola and The Young Girls of Rochefort in his informal romantic cycle. It took the Palme d'Or at Cannes in 1964, won the Louis Delluc Prize, and collected several Academy Award nominations in the United States.