Les Enfants du Paradis (Children of Paradise)

Called the Gone With the Wind of foreign films, Marcel Carne's epic romance has consistently appeared on critics' all-time greatest films lists and has been the most requested foreign film previously unavailable on video. Made by Carne and screenwriter Jacques Prevert during the Nazi Occupation, Les Enfants du Paradis is set in 19th-century Paris and follows the lives and loves of a group of theatrical performers over the years. Jean-Louis Barrault delivers an impressive performance as Debureau, a lovesick mime who pines for the attention of Garance (Arletty), a courtesan who enters a marriage of convenience with a wealthy Count. In addition to the Count and Debureau, Garance is also loved by Lacenaire (Marcel Herrand), a philosophical murderer; and Frederick Lemaitre (Pierre Brasseur) who vies with Debureau for the honor of best actor in Paris. Garance's relationships with the four men become the driving force of the film, and though, on the face of it, the plot sounds very much like that of a daytime soap opera, the difference is in the dialogue, which absolutely sparkles. Film buffs will automatically take to this classic treatise on the performing arts, but general audiences too will discover a sweeping romantic tale, Dickensian in both its scope and unerring ear for life on the streets. A celebration of life, love, and acting, Les Enfants du Paradis lives up to its voluminous fanfare, and can now be seen by a much wider audience in its newly transferred print with refurbished and very clear subtitles. Highly recommended. (R. Pitman)