I'll walk down the lane with a happy refrain, just singin', singin' in the rain

Let's play a game. Close your eyes. Go ahead. Now, imagine yourself sitting in a darkened theater. You've come to see a theatrical re-release of Chocolat. That was a good flick, wasn't it? Anyway, the previews of coming attractions are playing. Now usually you're popping some Junior Mints into your mouth, but instead of that, today, you drop acid. The resulting cinematic experience for you would look something like The Umbrellas of Cherbourg. I first heard of this movie over at Lots of Co. after Max caught it on tv. I saw that it was playing at a local arty theater near me, so I had to check it out. I'm not even sure what this movie is, but I loved it. It's French. Yay! All the dialogue is sung. Whee! It's not songs, though, just singing from start to finish. Umm. Have I lost you? Oh, and this film introduced a twenty year old Catherine Deneuve to the screen and she is simply stunning. Seriously. Besides all the singing, the director, Jacques Demy, uses candy colors splashed all over everything to make a whole other frothy alternate world that, if you're at all like me, you want to hang out in for at least a little while. I mean, it's so pretty and you get to sing all the time. In French, people. It's not wholly different from our world, though. There is real life going on in Cherbourg. There's love and love lost. You really should check this out for yourself. It's not for everyone, though, as I'm sure you've surmised. Anyone else love this? I've never seen any of Demy's films before. What should I sample next?

Added: If nothing else, it's a kick to hear the auto mechanic sing shit like, "The engine will still knock when it's cold, but that is normal!"