Louis Daquin made one great work " Le Voyageur de la Toussaint" but the rest of his filmography has sunk into oblivion."Maître Après Dieu" tells the story of a captain ,his crew and a group of Jews fleeing Germany en route to Egypt.There ,they are refused because their visas are not valid.So the captain decides to take them to America...
The film suffers from the obvious low budget.Recreating Africa,a German harbor ,Alexandria ,it is more than the studios can afford.Besides,in "Manon" (1949) HG Clouzot had already depicted a ship full of Jews ,and Louis Daquin ,with all his finer feelings,is no match for the one French director who has got two movies in the IMDb top 250.
However,the film is not uninteresting:Daquin put the weight on Pierre Brasseur and he carried it.His portrayal of a generous captain is excellent.Do not miss,in the first sequence ,his appearance as God the Father ,about to steal the coconuts from the missionaries.
I'm not a specialist but it seems to me that Daquin and his script writers mix the Christian and the Jewish religions.But it does not matter:the captain has become a new Mosis en route to the promised land.Reading the Bible,a thing he has never done before,he makes a deal with God!If He does not help him (= If He does not send his angel )save his protégés ,he will ask for Hell's help.Even the priest does not believe in Angels anymore.And against all odds ,the angels will come,in their own peculiar way.
Beautiful score by Jean Wiener.
The film suffers from the obvious low budget.Recreating Africa,a German harbor ,Alexandria ,it is more than the studios can afford.Besides,in "Manon" (1949) HG Clouzot had already depicted a ship full of Jews ,and Louis Daquin ,with all his finer feelings,is no match for the one French director who has got two movies in the IMDb top 250.
However,the film is not uninteresting:Daquin put the weight on Pierre Brasseur and he carried it.His portrayal of a generous captain is excellent.Do not miss,in the first sequence ,his appearance as God the Father ,about to steal the coconuts from the missionaries.
I'm not a specialist but it seems to me that Daquin and his script writers mix the Christian and the Jewish religions.But it does not matter:the captain has become a new Mosis en route to the promised land.Reading the Bible,a thing he has never done before,he makes a deal with God!If He does not help him (= If He does not send his angel )save his protégés ,he will ask for Hell's help.Even the priest does not believe in Angels anymore.And against all odds ,the angels will come,in their own peculiar way.
Beautiful score by Jean Wiener.