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MovieMail's Review
Filmed during the Nazi Occupation and released shortly after the Liberation, this witty, thrilling and compelling evocation of 1830s Paris was an act of resistance that came to embody the spirit of France.
Inspired as much by the crimes of Pierre-François Lacenaire (Marcel Herrand) as the artistry of actor Frédérick Lemaître (Pierre Brasseur) and mime Baptiste Deburau (Jean-Louis Barrault), Jacques Prévert's scenario is epically melodramatic, especially as all three are enamoured of carnival performer Garance (Arletty), who is protected by the arrogant aristocratic dandy De Montray (Louis Salou). However, such is the finesse of Marcel Carné's direction and the authenticity of Alexandre Trauner's studio recreation of the teeming Boulevard du Temple that this feels like a slice of poetic reality.
Despite the spectacle, the picture also has an intimacy that is typified by Barrault's heart-breaking Pierrot act, which reinforces the key notion that life and art are inextricably linked. Impeccable in every detail, this was voted the best French film of all time during the 1995 centenary of cinema and nothing has altered its status since.
Les Enfants Du Paradis is one of the most celebrated films in cinema history, this richly romantic masterpiece from the Golden Age of French Cinema is set in the popular theatre and criminal underworld of 19th century Paris.
Voted by the French Film Academy as 'The Best French Film Ever Made'.
