
1945
Children of Paradise (digital quality)
Les enfants du paradis (Original Title)
Les Enfants du Paradis (Children of Paradise) is a 1945 French masterpiece directed by Marcel Carné and written by Jacques Prévert. Considered a peak of poetic realism, this three-hour romantic drama set in 1830s Paris follows the beautiful courtesan Garance (Arletty) and her four suitors—a mime, actor, criminal, and aristocrat—amidst the theatrical "Boulevard du Crime".
Additional materials
Children of Paradise (part 2)
Audio commentary by Brian Stonehill (film scholar)
Audio commentary by Charles Affron (film scholar)
Admin comments
I have included this French cinematic masterpiece in this collection because the film belongs to the National Socialist civilization. I have nothing to add about the values and quality of the film, especially the sophistication of dialogues since everything has already been said and written. I don’t even wish to draw any comparisons with Hollywood and Soviet cinema of the Stalinist period.
I would like to share my personal experience. In my opinion, the most climatic and dramatic moment of the film takes place on the 77th minute of the first series, when during the performance Baptiste realizes that his beloved Garance is having a love affair with another actor. Actors Jean-Louis Barro and Maria Cazares convey all the feelings of Batiste and Natalie through facial expressions. I did not see this film in the USSR and asked my mother if she had seen it in 1968 when it was released in theaters. She watched it and liked it very much. I then asked what moment, if any, she remembered the most. And she described that exact episode I had previously mentioned. And this is 55 years after!
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