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Credits
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Summary
Jean, a deserter from the French army arrives in the port of Le Havre where, by chance,
he is offered a change of identity and the opportunity to sail to the safety of South
America. He is reluctant to leave, however, because he has met and fallen in love
with a young woman, Nelly. Jean's fortunes take a turn for the worse when he makes
a stand to protect Nelly from her guardian, Zabel, and a former admirer, both of whom
are ruthless crooks.
Review
This is a very atmospheric film from one of France's great directors, Marcel Carné,
better known for his legendary film, Les
Enfants du Paradis. Maurice Jaubert's moody opening theme transports us
into a world of mists and shadows, more evocative of down-town Chicago in the 1930s than
a harbour town in Northern France.
There are a few attempts at light relief - the charismatic little white dog which is contantly at Gabin's heels, the depressive artist who sees death in everything he paints ("La nature morte!" comments another character in response), the uplifting music of the fairground scene. However, the sense throughout is one of overwhelming doom and unavoidable tragedy, capturing the mood of pre-war France quite well. One can almost see the writer and director each holding a cut-throat razor to his throat as they worked on the film. Although a very gloomy film, its stars, Jean Gabin, Michèle Morgan and Michel Simon (now all revered as legends of French cinema) shine brightly. Gabin is at his most enigmatic and engaging as the taciturn ex-soldier looking for a better life and not expecting to find it. Morgan shows her worth in the last minutes of the scene when she realises that her love is going to be lost, one way or another. And Michel Simon's supremely villainous Zabel - deliciously sophisticated, but uncompromisingly evil - is a brilliant creation. Whilst the film may be a bit too doom-laden for some people's tastes, the quality of the photography and acting performances easily make this a very watchable example of late 1930s French cinema. © James Travers 2000
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