Les enfants du paradis

Carné’s celebratory, haunting and overwhelming masterpiece is as much a tribute to the various forms of storytelling as it is to the French traditions of romance, theatre, music and cinema. The poetic narrative tracks the exploits of a Parisian acting troupe in the 19th century whose lives are intertwined by their infatuation with the eternal feminine – namely a courtesan indelibly played by Arletty.

Despite numerous suspensions to production during the Nazi Occupation, and the clandestine employment of Jewish artists including composer Joseph Kosma and production designer Alexandre Trauner, the film is also notable for its extraordinarily detailed, heavily populated and teeming creation of its period setting. The brilliant ensemble cast includes Jean-Louis Barrault, Pierre Brasseur, Pierre Renoir and María Casares.