Such a beautiful, ethereal film, which boggles my mind given the horror of WWII and Nazi occupation of France at the time. I confess that any film which features the Devil as a character already has a leg up in my book, and this one adds in elements of romantic love and seduction, which was a dreamy plus. The cast is as beautiful as the script, including Arletta, Marie Déa, Alain Cuny, Marcel Herrand, and a brief cameo from Simone Signoret.
The premise is simple: in 1485, the Devil sends a man (Gilles, played by Cuny) and woman (Dominique, Arletty) to a castle to wreak havoc on the impending marriage between a baron's daughter (Anne, Déa) and her fiancé (Renaud, Herrand). Despite working for the Prince of Darkness, Gilles has a soft side, and works on Anne by appealing to her heart, though toys with her by threatening to take his love away. Still, they are both good-hearted, as we see in his helping others and her feeling sympathy for the three deformed people brought to court (who delightfully turn out to be demonic imps, and I wish we had seen more of in the second half of the film). Meanwhile Dominique appeals to Renaud's physical desire, and toys with him by also flirting with the baron, his prospective father-in-law. These two have more of a cold-hearted edge, with Renaud's enjoying hunting and warfare, and Dominique confessing that she can feel nothing for others.
It's probably too simplistic to think that the two pairs represent only love and lust, since both of the envoys get their targets into bed, but clearly Anne and Gilles represent a simple purity of heart. They are serene while Renaud and the baron challenge one another to a duel to the death. Further drama ensues when Gilles makes the mistake of falling in love with Anne, thus bringing his boss onto the scene (Jules Berry).
The story is told by Marcel Carné with lots of simple but endearing special effects, like the envoys stopping time at a celebratory dance, Dominique replacing the portrait of the Baron's dead wife, and a dissolve where Gilles and Anne go to the fountain in their minds despite being chained up, only to be confronted by the Devil, and shown what's taking place at a duel through reflections in the water. The script is also loaded with romantic lines and deep feeling, though it lags a bit while it's being delivered over its 118 minutes. It was likely a complete escape from what was going on in the world - but then again, with the Devil causing mayhem in the story and God absent, it's easy to conceive of a connection (though Carné, to his credit, was honest and said this was not his intention). Tellingly though, it's only through sacrifice, courage, and love that evil can be confronted, not through divine rescue.
Quotes: "As soon as I saw you, I knew you'd come for me. I knew it. I'm sure my life will change."
"You hunted me like a cat hunts a mouse. But we're both cats, there is no mouse. It's not our fault. We both thought we'd caught a tender new victim."
"Why be frightened? Life is full of mysteries, isn't it? A bird, an apple, a beast, the sun, the trees in these woods, even us - we don't know from whence we come or where we go. Isn't that marvelous?"
"Is it possible to totally belong to another?" "Some call that love." "Then is love like death? We no longer exist? It's all over? Why? If you love me, don't hurt me, don't lock me up, let me live! Love me as I love you - simply."
"Do you cling, like ivy, to your memories?"
"Alas, we are under a spell, and once it dissipates, you'll see me as I truly am - miserable and alone."
"If it's a sin to give myself to the one I love, I don't regret it."
"Think of me as if it were the last time."
The premise is simple: in 1485, the Devil sends a man (Gilles, played by Cuny) and woman (Dominique, Arletty) to a castle to wreak havoc on the impending marriage between a baron's daughter (Anne, Déa) and her fiancé (Renaud, Herrand). Despite working for the Prince of Darkness, Gilles has a soft side, and works on Anne by appealing to her heart, though toys with her by threatening to take his love away. Still, they are both good-hearted, as we see in his helping others and her feeling sympathy for the three deformed people brought to court (who delightfully turn out to be demonic imps, and I wish we had seen more of in the second half of the film). Meanwhile Dominique appeals to Renaud's physical desire, and toys with him by also flirting with the baron, his prospective father-in-law. These two have more of a cold-hearted edge, with Renaud's enjoying hunting and warfare, and Dominique confessing that she can feel nothing for others.
It's probably too simplistic to think that the two pairs represent only love and lust, since both of the envoys get their targets into bed, but clearly Anne and Gilles represent a simple purity of heart. They are serene while Renaud and the baron challenge one another to a duel to the death. Further drama ensues when Gilles makes the mistake of falling in love with Anne, thus bringing his boss onto the scene (Jules Berry).
The story is told by Marcel Carné with lots of simple but endearing special effects, like the envoys stopping time at a celebratory dance, Dominique replacing the portrait of the Baron's dead wife, and a dissolve where Gilles and Anne go to the fountain in their minds despite being chained up, only to be confronted by the Devil, and shown what's taking place at a duel through reflections in the water. The script is also loaded with romantic lines and deep feeling, though it lags a bit while it's being delivered over its 118 minutes. It was likely a complete escape from what was going on in the world - but then again, with the Devil causing mayhem in the story and God absent, it's easy to conceive of a connection (though Carné, to his credit, was honest and said this was not his intention). Tellingly though, it's only through sacrifice, courage, and love that evil can be confronted, not through divine rescue.
Quotes: "As soon as I saw you, I knew you'd come for me. I knew it. I'm sure my life will change."
"You hunted me like a cat hunts a mouse. But we're both cats, there is no mouse. It's not our fault. We both thought we'd caught a tender new victim."
"Why be frightened? Life is full of mysteries, isn't it? A bird, an apple, a beast, the sun, the trees in these woods, even us - we don't know from whence we come or where we go. Isn't that marvelous?"
"Is it possible to totally belong to another?" "Some call that love." "Then is love like death? We no longer exist? It's all over? Why? If you love me, don't hurt me, don't lock me up, let me live! Love me as I love you - simply."
"Do you cling, like ivy, to your memories?"
"Alas, we are under a spell, and once it dissipates, you'll see me as I truly am - miserable and alone."
"If it's a sin to give myself to the one I love, I don't regret it."
"Think of me as if it were the last time."