2. Song Name: Ending of The Umbrellas of Cherbourg ("I Will Wait For You")
Music Composer: Michel Legrand
Link to the video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ObVG9o2xWI
The much-loved French film, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, is a feast for the senses. The entire dialogue is sung (in French, with English subtitles), which some viewers might assume would be off-putting or awkward, but don't let this unique format stop you from watching this movie, that has been described as one of the most beloved romantic movies of all time. I felt that it was easy to quickly get used to this format and accept it as beautiful and fascinating.
Also, there was a gorgeous wash of colors throughout the film, in the clothes and the interiors of the rooms, and a coordination of them both. One might want to watch the movie more than once, just to take in all the various aspects of the production.
The main theme of the movie and the music is the concept of "I Will Wait For You", in which a young and ravashing Catherine Denueve (Genevieve) and handsome and steadfast Nino Castrenuovo (Guy) vow eternal love for each other, but circumstances in life intruded to wreck that vow. Among those circumstances, Genevieve's mother, who had financial issues, did not approve of Guy and hoped that her daughter would marry a man with money, plus she felt that the pair was too young to be in a love affair. Guy was drafted into the Army and had to go fight a war in Morocco. Guy and Genevieve had sex prior to Guy's departure, and Genevieve became pregnant. The timing of the issues and their individual situations led to Genevieve's decision to chosing to marry a rich man who wanted her and was willing to accept and adopt her baby that had come from another man. When after the war Guy came back home to Cherbourg, there was no sign of the Genevieve. Genevieve's mother had sold her ailing umbrella shop and Guy found out from others that Genevieve had gotten married and moved away.
Guy was devastated and felt betrayed, and fell into a deep funk. And if that wasn't enough, his aunt who was his caretaker and had a serious illness, died right after he got back from the war. She had been able to stay alive throughout his absence until she could see him again. Working there the whole time as a nurse had been a kind and beautiful girl (Madeleine). With there no longer being the aunt to take are of, Madeleine said to Guy that now she should leave. But Guy said that he did not want her go, and Madeleine revealed that she had always love him. His heart opened and he realized what a wonderful person she was, and he fell in love with her.
Having this relationship with Madeleine now, Guy got himslf emotionally cleaned up and took the money he had when received when he was discharged from the army and put a down payment on a gas station, something he had always wanted to have, and build a business for himself. He married Madeleine and she bore him a son.
A couple of years later, Genevieve on a driving with her daughter decided to take a detour through Cherbourg, where she hadn't been since her marriage. She decided to get some gasoline, and stopped at the gas station that happened to be Guy's. He goes out into the snow to service the car and the two see each other face to face for the first time since Guy had gone to Morocco.
The music of this final scene is what I have chosen for this post here. Tear-jerker? Tell me about it! It's an absolute soup of betrayal, sadness, regret, broken promises, lot dreams, what might have been...all this and much more. And yet both of them had done well, were in loving marriages, each have a child, and were financially secure. They both have good lives with good spouses. I don't think that Guy was wishing he had Genevieve, and I don't think Genevieve was wishing she had Guy. They both ended up with the lives they wanted, just not with each other. But there is something painful about having loved somebody so much long ago but that you no longer have in your life, and cannot have in your life (for one thing, there is no place for your previous loved ones in the lives of your present ones). So yes, despite having an abundance now, the loss of the previous is nevertheless an immense wound that can never completely go away. As I have said countless times before, the larger the love, the larger the grief. However, this also means that deep inside that grief is the power of that love. So, when you feel sad, you also feel love.
This movie held such a grip on me that for several weeks after I saw it, every couple of days I would watch again the final two sections of the movie. And even now, I still do so every once in a while. Addicted to that experience of the grief that carries the love.
