Short Take: Children of Paradise

Children of Paradise, directed by Marcel Carné from a script by Jacques Prévert, is a triumph on many levels. It's a superbly realized evocation of 1830s Paris, a marvelous tribute to the theater of the period, and a haunting treatment of unrequited and semi-requited love. The main character is Garance (Arletty), a beautiful woman who drifts from man to man. Her suitors, all based on real-life figures, include the mobster Pierre Lacenaire (Marcel Herrand), the actor Frédérick Lemaître (Pierre Brasseur), the aristocratic Comte de Montray (Louis Salou), and the great mime Baptiste Deburau (Jean-Louis Barrault). If any could be said to be her true love, it is Deburau, but their happiness together may be the most fleeting. Jacques Prévert's script elegantly weaves the story of Garance's affairs and the men's careers together. His dialogue is beautifully written. It manages to be poetic, romantic, and down-to-earth all at once. Arletty imbues Garance with a quietly flirtatious worldliness that leaves no doubt as to why men are immediately smitten with her. Jean-Louis Barrault is even better. His mime-work as Deburau's signature Pierrot character is astonishing, and his performance off-stage is richly expressive--Deburau's thoughts and feelings seem to surround him like an aura. The rest of the cast, which also includes María Casarès, Pierre Renoir, and Étienne Decroux--is first-rate. Director Marcel Carné, working with production designer Alexandre Trauner and the costumer Mayo, does a magnificent job of recreating the historical setting. The 1830s Paris theater district, called the "Boulevard of Crime," is one of the most impressive outdoor sets in the history of movies, and Carné keeps it teeming with life. His staging of the various theatrical performances, along with their audiences, is superb, and the handling of the character drama is nuanced and note-perfect. The fine cinematography is by Roger Hubert and Philippe Agostini. Joseph Kosma provided the film's score. Maurice Thiriet, who received the on-screen credit, was the orchestrator. The Comte de Montray character, the only one of the suitors without a historical namesake, was inspired by the Duc Charles de Morny, an early sponsor of the actress Sarah Bernhardt.