For reference, these are my ratings for some previous Marcel Carné movies i've watched :
Le jour se lève : 8,1/10.
Port of shadows : 7,9/10.
Consequently, this is my my least favourite movie of his, up until now. As the reviewer "dbdumonteil" is mentioning : "Hotel du Nord " is the only Carné movie from the 1936-1946 era which has dialogs not written by Jacques Prévert, but by Henri Jeanson".
Prevert's absence is obvious : With all due respect to Jeanson, script here is not very good. And the interactions between the characters seem a bit forced. Supposedly, there is a couple here so much in love that they decide to do something unimaginable. I didn't feel anything watching them. Perhaps acting is to blame too. Annabella was beautiful for sure, but as an actress, she was not convincing here.
Furthermore, it's a bit confusing and messy. Viewer cannot distinguish the "heroes" from the "villains". I didn't hate anyone but noone was to root for either, until the last minutes at least. I don't mind movies with moral gray zones but this was not even morally gray : Characters were kinda bland and dull.
7 stars because it was well directed and interesting, despite of all these. And Louis Jouvet/Arletty were phenomenal. This is still a good drama. ( It has nothing to do though with comedy either romance)
Le jour se lève : 8,1/10.
Port of shadows : 7,9/10.
Consequently, this is my my least favourite movie of his, up until now. As the reviewer "dbdumonteil" is mentioning : "Hotel du Nord " is the only Carné movie from the 1936-1946 era which has dialogs not written by Jacques Prévert, but by Henri Jeanson".
Prevert's absence is obvious : With all due respect to Jeanson, script here is not very good. And the interactions between the characters seem a bit forced. Supposedly, there is a couple here so much in love that they decide to do something unimaginable. I didn't feel anything watching them. Perhaps acting is to blame too. Annabella was beautiful for sure, but as an actress, she was not convincing here.
Furthermore, it's a bit confusing and messy. Viewer cannot distinguish the "heroes" from the "villains". I didn't hate anyone but noone was to root for either, until the last minutes at least. I don't mind movies with moral gray zones but this was not even morally gray : Characters were kinda bland and dull.
7 stars because it was well directed and interesting, despite of all these. And Louis Jouvet/Arletty were phenomenal. This is still a good drama. ( It has nothing to do though with comedy either romance)