Julien Carette : M. Quinquina
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An encounter with destiny
8/10
Author: jotix100 from New York
24 November 2011
*** This review may contain IS a spoiler ***
We are in Paris. It is 1945 and Paris was already liberated, but the war still rages on. We are given a view of the city as the scene changes to a metro car where Jean Diego, a young man is riding. A poorly dressed man, opposite him keeps staring at him. As he comes over, he asks whether he is getting off at the next stop. Both exit the train, but Jean loses the bum like man.
Jean is on his way to visit Claire Lecuyer, a woman whose husband Raymond, Jean believes, was killed in the conflict. To his amazement, Claire sets things straight, telling the visitor her husband Raymond is much alive, and well. A bit later, Raymond Lecuyer comes home. He is now working for the railroad, bearing in his hands the scars of the torture he endured.
The occasion calls for a celebration. Jean Diego takes the family to a local bistro. The man from the metro comes in wanting to play his harmonica. As Jean looks out the window, he watches a gorgeous woman outside, sitting in a car smoking. Jean is instantly smitten by the lady's beauty. She is Malou, a singer that has traveled, like Jean, all over the world. Malou, now married to a horrible man, is a local girl from the neighborhood.
Malou has come to see her older father. They have been distant. Her brother Guy is a low life who ratted on people to the German invaders. He must flee. Things get complicated when Jean and Malou meet in the warehouse of her father. It is instant love for them. The lovers are doomed because Guy gets in the way. A wonderful film by Marcel Carne from 1946. Another contribution between the director and Jacques Prevert which evidently was lost for quite some time, but new audiences are receptive to Mr. Carne's films again.
This is a fine example of an ambitious project which had romance mixed in with fatality. The poor man hints at what is coming, although most prefer to ignore the fate he heralds. A young Yves Montand has a good opportunity to shine in the film.He gives an honest portrayal of a decent man that gets tangled in things beyond his control. The gorgeous(Fffff !) Nathalie Nattier makes a mysterious Malou. Jean Vilar appears as the poor man that stands for the destiny. Serge Reggiani plays Malou's brother, Guy. A young Dany Robin appears briefly.
