I wish I had something better to say about "Les Enfants du Paradis." I understand it was shot under almost impossible conditions during the Nazi occupation and the cast and crew are held in an esteem almost Olympian in height.
Helas, it seemed to drag for me. Three hours of a mime pursuing a flirtatious woman who attracts all kinds of men, high and low. It's a long time and I had some trouble keeping my eyes open. God knows, I'm not asking for the kind of warp-speed movies we're bombarded with today, nor does everything need to be dumbed down to the level of a grade-school kid. But, really, it could have been snipped here and there and been more of an eyeball magnet than it is. There's a good ten minutes, for instance, of a mime's performance on the stage of a kind of Commedia del'Arte. He prances in silence with a child, a blustering policeman, and a coquettish laundry woman. The mime is no Marcel Marceau, and nothing comes of the performance that couldn't be communicated in two minutes. Instead, we watch him for ten.
And I couldn't figure out why all the men fall for Arletty. As Randolph Scott said in one of his Westerns, "She ain't ugly." But she ain't exactly enchanting either.
The film's longueurs stretch on and on, like the Street of Crime, as far as the half-open eye can see. Nothing much happens. A bit of trouble with the police. A duel. The mime beats a huge bouquet of flowers to death. Some suggestive dialog that must have seemed wicked in 1945. Mostly people stand on a stage and play catch with words.
It's said to be the "Gone With the Wind" of French cinema. I've seen enough of "Gone With the Wind" for one lifetime too. However, "Gone With the Wind" has its adoring fans. So does "The Sound of Music," though, and that's bound to induce some sort of digestive problem in a viewer who is not a fan. "Les Enfants" has its fans, including some people whose opinions I respect, so maybe others will get more out of this than I was able to.
Helas, it seemed to drag for me. Three hours of a mime pursuing a flirtatious woman who attracts all kinds of men, high and low. It's a long time and I had some trouble keeping my eyes open. God knows, I'm not asking for the kind of warp-speed movies we're bombarded with today, nor does everything need to be dumbed down to the level of a grade-school kid. But, really, it could have been snipped here and there and been more of an eyeball magnet than it is. There's a good ten minutes, for instance, of a mime's performance on the stage of a kind of Commedia del'Arte. He prances in silence with a child, a blustering policeman, and a coquettish laundry woman. The mime is no Marcel Marceau, and nothing comes of the performance that couldn't be communicated in two minutes. Instead, we watch him for ten.
And I couldn't figure out why all the men fall for Arletty. As Randolph Scott said in one of his Westerns, "She ain't ugly." But she ain't exactly enchanting either.
The film's longueurs stretch on and on, like the Street of Crime, as far as the half-open eye can see. Nothing much happens. A bit of trouble with the police. A duel. The mime beats a huge bouquet of flowers to death. Some suggestive dialog that must have seemed wicked in 1945. Mostly people stand on a stage and play catch with words.
It's said to be the "Gone With the Wind" of French cinema. I've seen enough of "Gone With the Wind" for one lifetime too. However, "Gone With the Wind" has its adoring fans. So does "The Sound of Music," though, and that's bound to induce some sort of digestive problem in a viewer who is not a fan. "Les Enfants" has its fans, including some people whose opinions I respect, so maybe others will get more out of this than I was able to.