The Children of Paradise Review- By Michael Carlisle

Title: Children of Paradise
Director: Marcel Carne
Year: 1945
Country: France
Language: French

Marcel Carne's The Children of Paradise is an extraordinary piece of work considering it was made during an extremely volatile time. Shot in Paris and Nice during the Nazi occupation, the sets often had to be moved between the two cities. Since the Nazis banned films over 90 minutes, though Adolf Hitler often banned films he just didn't like as was the case for Tarzan films, Carne had to split this into two separate films. He worked with Jews who were tired of hiding, and he was forced to collaborate with Nazis, who were not aware that they were making a film which was critical of Nazi occupied France.

Children of Paradise is a rather tragic tale centering around the ill-fated love between Baptiste, a theater mime, and Claire Reine, an actress and otherwise woman-about-town who calls herself Garance. Garance, in turn, is loved by three other men: Frederick, a pretentious actor; Lacenaire, a conniving thief; and Count Eduard of Monteray. The story is further complicated by Nathalie, an actress who is in love with Baptiste.Garance is forced to enter the protection of Cont Eduard when she is falsely accused of stealing jewelery. Both Garance and Baptiste cheat on each other during their separation.

Again it is quite astonishing that this film was made, the incredible imagination of Marcel Carne survived even through the tough times of the Nazi occupation when one might think his hopes would have been crushed under the fascist shadow that loomed over him. There were many bumps in the road toward making this film. After Italy fell to fascism an Italian co-producer pulled out, another French producer was arrested by Nazis, a lead actor fled to Germany and material for costumes and sets were largely scarce. A perfectionist in every sense of the word, Carne's Children of Paradise involved the building of the largest studio set in the history of French Cinema. Representing a theater district from the 1830's, it was reproduced in marvelous detail.

this is a stylized allegory dealing with the paralysis of an occupied France. This is the kind of film people make when they may die tomorrow:  every word puts us on the edge of our seat, every moment we feel great anticipation that something wondrous or tragic is about to happen. It can be compared to Gone with the Wind, but only in scope and the similarity between the  female characters. Children of Paradise is more cynical and realistic. Even though the film has a running time of three hours, it never seems a minute too long. I am willing to watch this over and over again because it is just that good.

In conclusion, Children of Paradise, like Jean Renoir's Rules of the Game,  is often regarded as the greatest French film of all time. Rumor has it that it plays in Paris every single day because of its entertainment value and historical importance. I tend to agree with this claim as it is definitely in my top ten. It is a great mix of humour, melodrama and tragedy and the pinnacle of "poetic realism," Praise it! 5/5