[PORT OF SHADOWS
is screens Tuesday February 19th at the Capitol Theatre at 7:00 pm.
Presented by the Cleveland Cinematheque.]
Review by Bob
Ignizio
French deserter Jean (Jean Gabin) is
bitter and hungry when he hitches a ride on a truck. He shows he
still has a compassionate side when he forces the driver to swerve to
avoid hitting a dog that leads to a confrontation between driver and
passenger. Cooler heads eventually prevail, but the near fight allows
Jean to naturally comment on his views about patriotism and the
emotional toll that comes from killing someone with a gun, something
we gather he knows from personal experience.
After Jean is dropped off, he and the
dog, who refuses to leave his side, make their way to the port town
of Le Havre where they find refuge at a rundown bar. There Jean meets
Nelly (Michèle Morgan) and jokingly declares it's love at first
sight before going on a diatribe about romance and women. As the two
actually talk to each other, however, a real connection is formed and
the idea of love begins to seem less preposterous. Standing in the
way of the couple's happiness are Nelly's lecherous guardian Zabel
(Michel Simon) and small time gangster Lucien (Pierre Brasseur), as
well as Jean's own sense of self preservation which is urging him to
hop on a boat to Venezuela before the army or some other dark fate
catches up with him.
There
is a surface sheen to PORT OF SHADOWS
that at first glance makes it appear to be in the same mold as
romantic Hollywood films of the era. One doesn't need to look too far
beneath that gloss, however, to realize that what director Marcel
Carné
and screenwriter Jacques Prévert have really made is a film that
subverts romantic notions. Not just the fantasy of happily ever
after, but even more controversial issues. With its hero a
psychologically scarred war deserter, it's embrace of moral
relativism, and a sense of impending doom from its very first first
frame, PORT has more
in common with the film noirs of the 40s that it preceded by a few
years than most films of its own time. Its grim world view is perhaps
best summed up by one of the bar patrons, an unnamed painter (Robert
Le Vigan), thusly: “Some people go fishing or hunting or go to war.
Others commit crimes of passion. Some commit suicide. You have to
kill someone.”
Beyond the meat of
the film, it's also interesting to note a few bits here and that
would never have passed muster in American cinema at the time. In
particular, only a European film could have shown its two leads in
bed discussing their lovemaking the night before. In Hollywood, even
married couples would still be relegated to separate beds for years
to come.
With
its pulpy subject matter and breezy 90 minute running time, PORT
OF SHADOWS doesn't aim for the
same level of epic grandeur as Carné
and Prevert's perennial critics' favorite CHILDREN OF
PARADISE. On its own terms,
however, it's still and excellent film of considerable depth and
potency. It's also quite accessible even for those outside the usual
arthouse crowd, provided they don't mind subtitles. It's got romance,
it's got gangsters, it's got a cute dog, and it's all delivered with
style and attitude. What's not to like? 3 1/2 out of 4 stars.
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