Les enfants du Paradis (The children of Paradise) 1945 - A timeless love saga

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IMDB rating: 8,3

Director: Marcel Carne
Main Cast: Arletty, Jean-Louis Barrault, Pierre Brasseur, Pierre Renoir, Maria Casares, Gaston Modot

"Set in the Parisian theatrical world of the 1840s, Jacques Prévert's screenplay concerns four men in love with the mysterious Garance (Arletty). Each loves Garance in his own fashion, but only the intentions of sensitive mime-actor Deburau (Jean-Louis Barrault) are entirely honorable; as a result, it is he who suffers most, hurdling one obstacle after another in pursuit of an evidently unattainable goal. In the stylized fashion of 19th-century French drama, many grand passions are spent during the film's totally absorbing 195 minutes. The film was produced under overwhelmingly difficult circumstances during the Nazi occupation of France, and many of the participants/creators were members of the Maquis, so the movie's existence itself is somewhat miraculous. Children of Paradise has gone on to become one of the great romantic classics of international cinema." - www.allmovie.com

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