Children of Paradise
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Les Enfants du Paradis (known as Children of Paradise in its English release) is a 1945 film by French director Marcel Carné. Made during the Nazi occupation, the film is set in Paris in 1828. To tell the story simply, it is the tale of a beautiful courtesan, Garance, and the four men who love her in their own ways: a mime, an actor, a criminal and an aristocrat. The film was voted "Best French Film of the Century" in a poll of 600 French critics and professionals in 1995.
The title refers to the members of the theatre audience who inhabit the highest areas and cheapest seats of the theatre such as the upper balconies. Many shots of the audience hanging over the edge of these balconies recur throughout the film. In the British theatre especially, these upper reaches are known as "the gods"; in French theatre, this is "paradis", translated as "paradise" in the film's English title. The film might be more accurately titled "Children of the Gods". As noted by the film historian, Girish Shambu [1], the film is just as much about these audience members as it is about the actors.
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Story
Image:Garance.jpgChildren of Paradise is set in the theatrical world of Paris in 1828. The center of the action is the area around the Funambules theatre, also known as the Boulevard du Crime. The film revolves around a beautiful and charismatic courtesan, Garance (famously played by Arletty). Four men, Baptiste the mime, Frédérick Lemaître (Pierre Brasseur), an actor, Pierre Lacenaire (Marcel Herrand), a thief and Édouard de Montrayare, an aristocrat (Louis Salou) are in love with Garance (Arletty), and their intrigues drive the story. Garance is briefly enchanted by them all, but leaves them when they attempt to restrain her freedom. However, the only one whose love is pure, the mime Baptiste (Jean-Louis Barrault), is the one who suffers the most in pursuit of the unattainable Garance.
Historical conditions
The three hour film was extremely difficult to make due to theatrical constraints during the occupation. Noted critic Pauline Kael wrote "that the starving extras made away with some of the banquets before they could be photographed". Carné and Prevert hid some of the key reels of film from the occupying forces, hoping that Paris would be liberated by the time the film was completed.
The occupying Nazi administration imposed a maximum time limit of 90 minutes for feature films. As a result of this the film was split into its two parts - "Le Boulevard du crime" (The Boulevard of Crime) and "L'Homme blanc" (The White Man). The film debuted on March 9, 1945 in Paris at the Madeleine and Colisée theatres.
Historical References
The four men courting Garance were all based on real French personalities of the 1800s. Baptiste Debureau was a famous mime and Frédérick Lemaître was an acclaimed actor on the boulevard of crime depicted in the film. Pierre Lacenaire was an infamous French criminal and the character of the comte Édouard de Montray was inspired by the Duc de Morny.
Influence
In the Centre Pompidou in Paris, there is a theater named after Arletty's character, the Salle Garance (Garance's Room).
Trivia
- The Criterion DVD release featured the original trailer, which calls Children of Paradise the French answer to Gone With the Wind.
- Pierre Renoir took the role of Jéricho (an informer) after Robert Le Vigan was arrested for being a Nazi collaborator. One of the scenes featuring Le Vigan appears in the film.
Alternate Vesions
- There are various alternate cuts of this film; the complete version runs 195 minutes and has been restored on video