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Country: France
Title: Children
of Paradise / Les Enfants du Paradis (1945)
Children of Paradise is, in the opinion of many, myself
included, the great romantic epic of classical cinema. At its center is
Garance, an elegant courtesan who attracts the attention of four men in the
‘Boulevard of Crime’ theater district of the 1830’s: Baptiste, a kindhearted gentle
mime, Frederick, a charming waggish actor, Lacenaire, a coldblooded calculating
criminal and Edouard de Montray, a rich, jaded count. Baptiste falls in love
with Garance first, and perhaps most purely, but his insecurity and timidity
prevent him sealing the relationship while Frederick, Lacenaire and the count all
press their various suits. Years pass
and all the men become great successes in their respective fields. Baptiste is married to
Nathalie, a fellow mime, who loves him passionately and is probably a better
match, but doesn’t fill the Garance-shaped hole in his heart. Frederick goes to
see one of Baptiste’s now-acclaimed performances and runs into Garance in
disguise. This triggers a new round of encounters and heartbreaks whose tragedy,
though profound for our characters, is swept away in the tumult of the times.
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My brief plot summary can hardly do justice to the formidable,
yet nimble 3+ hour script, divided into two parts separated by a number of
years. Not only does the story effortlessly leap and glide from character to
character, but it manages to preserve their distinctive personalities while
mixing them together in every combination, never failing to bear forth dialog
of sparkling wit and wisdom. Even the secondary characters like the rag-man
Jericho or the ill-fated Nathalie have moments in the spotlight as strong as
any lead role in a lesser film. Part of the movie's romantic magic is its sense
of place: carnival-season in a row of packed Parisian theaters and the even
busier street outside. Everywhere there
are people, in good spirits despite everything, and the film shares their
unfiltered excitement even as its sails down its bittersweet trajectory. The
film's production values are all the more impressive considering the conditions
of its creation: shot in Nazi-occupied France with shortages, rationing,
destruction, censorship and the constant threat of being shut down in part because the show doubled as
a front for resistance fighters and Jewish exiles.
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My Favorites:
Children of
Paradise
Last Year at
Marienbad
Diabolique
(1955)
Forbidden
Games (1952)
The Intruder
(2004)
Olivier,
Olivier
A Very Long
Engagement
Bob the
Gambler
A Prophet
Z
Amour
Jules and
Jim
Eden and
After
A Man
Escaped
Belle de
Jour
My Night at
Maud’s
Blue Is the
Warmest Color
Monsieur
Hire
Sundays and
Cybele
Diva
A Heart in
Winter
Amelie
A Self-Made
Hero
Kirikou and
the Sorceress
A Sunday in
the Country
Rust and
Bone
My American
Uncle
Beauty and
the Beast (1946)
Holy Motors
Leon Morin,
Priest
Celine and
Julie Go Boating
Breathless
(1960)
Rififi
Napoleon
(1927)
Summer Hours
The Lovers
(1958)
Pickpocket
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Alphaville
The Man Who
Sleeps
The
Apartment (1996)
The King and
the Mockingbird
Human
Resources
Read My Lips
The Earrings
of Madame de…
The
Umbrellas of Cherbourg
Carlos the
Jackal
Lovers on
the Bridge
Shoot the
Piano Player
The Raven
(1943)
Ridicule
Mr. Freedom
Perceval
The Three
Crowns of a Sailor
The Mother
and the Whore
Certified
Copy
Hiroshima
Mon Amour
Money (1928)
Contempt
The Rules of
the Game
Douce / Love
Story (1943)
City of Lost
Children
The
Fantastic Planet
Ponette
The
Professional
Time Out
Elevator to
the Gallows
A Christmas
Tale (2008)
The Discreet
Charm of the Bourgeoisie
Jean de
Florette
A Man and a
Woman
Bay of
Angels
Cleo from 5
to 7
Triple Agent
Eyes without
a Face
Weekend
(1967)
The Beaches
of Agnes
The
Beautiful Troublemaker
Chloe in the
Afternoon
Chronicle of
a Summer
A Judgment
in Stone / The Ceremony
Trouble
Every Day
Irma Vep
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Major Directors:
Olivier Assayas, Jacques Audiard, Claude Berri, Luc Besson, Bertrand Blier, Robert Bresson, Laurent Cantet, Leos Carax, Claude Chabrol, Patrice Chereau, Henri-Georges Clouzot, Jean Cocteau, Jacques Demy, Claire Denis, Arnuad Desplechin, Jean-Luc Godard, Michael Haneke, Jean-Pierre Juenet, Rene Laloux, Patrice Leconte, Louis Malle, Chris Marker, Jean-Pierre Melville, Max Ophuls, Francois Ozon, Jean Renoir, Alain Resnais, Alaine Robbe-Grillet, Eric Rohmer, Raoul Ruiz, Jacques Tati, Francois Traffaut, Roger Vadim, Agnes Varda
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