The Umbrellas of Cherbourg
16-year-old Genevieve and 20-year-old Guy are very much in love. Her kind mother, who runs an umbrella shop, won't hear of her marrying, particularly as Guy has yet to complete his compulsory military service. Genevieve is heartbroken when he leaves for his army service in colonial Algeria and is upset to have received only one letter from him in two months. Her mother's solution to this situation is kind diamond-merchant Roland Cassard, who has helped them in the past.
Despite its minimal budget of $200K, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg became a box office phenomenon, earning $7.6M worldwide—a remarkable 3700% return. The film's unique voice found its audience, confirming that strong storytelling can transcend budget limitations.
Nominated for 5 Oscars. 6 wins & 7 nominations
Plot Structure
Story beats plotted across runtime
Narrative Arc
Emotional journey through the story's key moments
Story Circle
Blueprint 15-beat structure
Arcplot Score Breakdown
Weighted: Precision (70%) + Arc (15%) + Theme (15%)
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964) showcases meticulously timed narrative architecture, characteristic of Jacques Demy's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 15-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 1 hour and 32 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 7.3, the film balances conventional beats with creative variation.
Characters
Cast & narrative archetypes
Geneviève Emery
Guy Foucher
Madame Emery
Roland Cassard
Madeleine
Aunt Élise
Main Cast & Characters
Geneviève Emery
Played by Catherine Deneuve
A young woman working in her mother's umbrella shop who falls deeply in love with Guy but faces difficult choices when he leaves for war.
Guy Foucher
Played by Nino Castelnuovo
A mechanic deeply in love with Geneviève who is drafted to fight in Algeria, returning to find his life has changed irrevocably.
Madame Emery
Played by Anne Vernon
Geneviève's pragmatic widowed mother who runs an umbrella shop and pushes her daughter toward financial security over romantic love.
Roland Cassard
Played by Marc Michel
A wealthy diamond merchant who falls in love with Geneviève and offers her financial stability and marriage when Guy is at war.
Madeleine
Played by Ellen Farner
Guy's godmother's caretaker who patiently waits for him and eventually becomes his wife, representing quiet devotion and acceptance.
Aunt Élise
Played by Mireille Perrey
Guy's ailing godmother who he cares for with Madeleine, providing him emotional grounding during difficult times.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 1 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes Geneviève and her mother run their umbrella shop in the colorful, musical world of Cherbourg. Young love blooms between Geneviève and Guy, a garage mechanic - everything is sung, nothing spoken.. Significantly, this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 10 minutes when Guy receives his draft notice for the Algerian War. Their idyllic romance is shattered by the external force of military conscription, forcing separation.. At 11% through the film, this Disruption aligns precisely with traditional story structure. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.
The First Threshold at 22 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 24% of the runtime. This demonstrates the protagonist's commitment to Guy leaves for Algeria. The lovers are separated, entering the new world of absence, longing, and the test of their promises. Geneviève must face her pregnancy alone., moving from reaction to action.
At 45 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 49% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. Of particular interest, this crucial beat Geneviève accepts Roland's marriage proposal. False defeat: she chooses security and respectability over waiting for Guy, betraying their promises. The romantic ideal dies; practical reality wins., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 65 minutes (70% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, Guy, devastated and drunk, wanders the streets where he and Geneviève once loved. The death of innocence, hope, and their shared dream - a metaphorical death of young love and idealism., shows the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Second Threshold at 71 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 77% of the runtime. Guy chooses to marry Madeleine and adopts her child, accepting a quieter, mature love built on companionship rather than passion. He synthesizes his loss into wisdom about sustainable love., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 15 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs systematic plot point analysis that identifies crucial turning points. By mapping The Umbrellas of Cherbourg against these established plot points, we can identify how Jacques Demy utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish The Umbrellas of Cherbourg within the drama genre.
Jacques Demy's Structural Approach
Among the 3 Jacques Demy films analyzed on Arcplot, the average structural score is 7.4, reflecting strong command of classical structure. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg takes a more unconventional approach compared to the director's typical style. For comparative analysis, explore the complete Jacques Demy filmography.
Comparative Analysis
Additional drama films include After Thomas, South Pacific and Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights. For more Jacques Demy analyses, see Donkey Skin, The Young Girls of Rochefort.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Geneviève and her mother run their umbrella shop in the colorful, musical world of Cherbourg. Young love blooms between Geneviève and Guy, a garage mechanic - everything is sung, nothing spoken.
Theme
Madame Emery worries about Geneviève's relationship with Guy, singing about practical concerns versus romantic love: "Love isn't enough." Theme: the tension between romantic idealism and practical reality.
Worldbuilding
Introduction to Geneviève and Guy's passionate romance, the umbrella shop's financial troubles, Guy's relationship with his dying godmother Aunt Elise, and the impending Algerian War draft.
Disruption
Guy receives his draft notice for the Algerian War. Their idyllic romance is shattered by the external force of military conscription, forcing separation.
Resistance
Geneviève and Guy spend their final days together. They make love, promise eternal devotion, and struggle with the impending separation. Geneviève discovers she's pregnant after Guy departs.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
Guy leaves for Algeria. The lovers are separated, entering the new world of absence, longing, and the test of their promises. Geneviève must face her pregnancy alone.
Mirror World
Roland Cassard, a wealthy diamond merchant, enters as a customer at the umbrella shop. He represents the practical, stable alternative to passionate but absent Guy - the thematic counterpoint to romantic idealism.
Premise
Geneviève waits for letters from Guy that arrive less frequently. Her pregnancy shows, the shop's debts mount, and Roland courts her with gentlemanly persistence. The promise of eternal love tested by time and circumstance.
Midpoint
Geneviève accepts Roland's marriage proposal. False defeat: she chooses security and respectability over waiting for Guy, betraying their promises. The romantic ideal dies; practical reality wins.
Opposition
Guy returns from war wounded and disillusioned to find Geneviève married and gone. His godmother has died. He spirals into drinking and despair, closing himself off emotionally.
Collapse
Guy, devastated and drunk, wanders the streets where he and Geneviève once loved. The death of innocence, hope, and their shared dream - a metaphorical death of young love and idealism.
Crisis
Guy processes his loss in darkness. Madeleine, his godmother's former caretaker, offers quiet companionship and stability without demands - a chance at a different kind of love.
Act III
ResolutionSecond Threshold
Guy chooses to marry Madeleine and adopts her child, accepting a quieter, mature love built on companionship rather than passion. He synthesizes his loss into wisdom about sustainable love.
Synthesis
Years pass. Guy builds a successful life running his own gas station with Madeleine and their children. Geneviève lives her bourgeois life with Roland and her daughter.
Transformation
December 1963: Geneviève and Guy meet by chance at his gas station with their respective children. They speak briefly, politely, as strangers who once knew each other. Both have transformed from romantic dreamers into practical adults - the closing image mirrors the opening's colorful world, but with melancholy wisdom replacing youthful passion.