Evies Blog

CHILDREN OF PARADISE has a history almost as worthy as the film itself. Production was fair beginning when Paris fell to the Nazis; the work was subsequently filmed piecemeal over a period of several years, distinguished of it during the height of World War II. And yet astonishingly, this account for portrait of 19th Century French theatre and the people who swirl through it shows slight evidence of the distinct challenges faced by director Marcel Carne, his cast, and his production staff. CHILDREN OF PARADISE seems to have been created inside a blessed bubble of imagination, protected from outside forces by the sheer power of its bear being.

The narrative is at once simple and extremely complex. A mime named Baptiste (Jean-Louis Barrault) falls in worship with a street woman known as Garance (Arletty) -and through a series of coincidences and his believe treasure for her finds the inspiration to become one of the most beloved stage artists of his era. But when shyness causes him to avoid consumation of the romance, Baptiste loses Garance to her occupy circle of admirers-a circle that includes a vicious member of the Paris underworld (Marcel Herrand), rising young actor (Pierre Brasseur), and an egotistical and jealous aristocrat (Louis Salou.) With the passage of time, Garance recognizes that she loves Baptiste as deeply as he does her… but now they must determine between each other and the separate lives they have created for themselves.

While the film is sometimes described as dreamy in tone, it would be more appropriately described as dreamy in tone but extremely earthy in whine. Instead of giving us a glamorous portait of life in theatre, it presents 19th Century theatre as it actually was: dominated by noisy audiences perfectly excellent of riot, the actors usually bad and hungry and mixing freely with criminal elements, the desperate struggle to rise above the chaos to accomplish something magical on stage. And while the film is not sexually explicit by any stretch of the imagination, by 1940s standards CHILDREN OF PARADISE was amazingly frank in its portrayal of Garance’s often casual liaisons; American cinema would not do anything similar for another twenty years.

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Everything about the film seems to swirl in a riot of people, costumes, and overlapping relationships, a sort of aroused confusion of life lived in a very elemental manner. And the cast carries the director’s vision to perfection. Jean-Louis Barrault is both a radiant actor and smart mime, perfectly capturing the exclusive innocence his role requires; the noted Arletty offers a divine mixture of exhaustion, sensuality, and self-awareness that makes Garance and her fatal attraction uniquely believable. And these performances do not stand in isolation: there is not a fallacious heed in the entire cast, the roles of which mask virtually every level of society imaginable.

With its complex narrative, colorful performances, and aesthetic spot pieces, the film has a longer running time than one might demand, and some may feel it is slow; I myself, however, did not read it as uninteresting so distinguished as accurate. It takes the time to allow the characters and their various stories to gain fully in the viewer’s mind. I must also price that while a knowledge of theatre history isn’t required to drop under the spell of this truly tantalizing film, those who do have that background will come by it particularly inviting. I regret to say that I have not seen the film on DVD, and I see forward to that. But the double-tape video release, while plagued with occasional blips and streaks, is calm very nice; the sound quality is good; and the subtitles are very determined and easy to read and follow. But be it on DVD, video, or better composed the gargantuan camouflage, this is truly a film that must be seen by any one that appreciates world cinema. CHILDREN OF PARADISE is one of the few films that can be viewed repeatedly, one of the truly tremendous masterpieces of cinema. Strongly, strongly recommended.

Children of Paradise is, quite simply, the best film ever made. It’s one of those outlandish, lyrical movies that must be seen at exactly the apt time in life, or its right meaning is elusive. The memoir works on many levels — what IS this about? Paris? Life? The Theater? Thumbing one’s nose at the Nazis? Thumbing one’s nose at Arletty? Yes. But mostly, it’s about the timelessness of Fancy and all it entails. It’s about distress and retreating into — and out of — dreams. Children of Paradise is about watching life unfold from the safety of the “paradise” — the peanut gallery, the balcony, the cheap seats. In English, the language of this film is haunting; in French, it’s sublime perfection. I saw this film for the first time in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I was 19. I was also recovering from a devestating head-injury which robbed me of my ability to remark French. For the first share of Children of Paradise, I struggled with subtitles. Then something magical happened: I understood. “I dreamed. I hoped. I waited.” Universal. Children of Paradise is not for everyone. It’s a film of the heart — raw and noteworthy. On the surface, the imagery is nothing special — but combined with the meaning of Prévert’s words, it’s a force to be reckoned with. This film is nothing short of a masterpiece.
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