This is not legend;this is fact: in Belle Ile ,there was a penal colony for children ,more in the tradition of Dickens than in that of a civilized country like France in the thirties.Three prisoners escaped and they put a price on their head.Then a children hunting began.The repression was terrible when they were captured.
Poet/screenwriter Jacques Prévert was shocked and decided to write a screenplay to expose these inhuman treatments .It was 1936 ,but censorship was hard on the writers ,and finally Prévert wrote "Jenny" who was Carné 's first feature-length movie.In the thirties,Prévert,now teaming up with Carné made several attempts at filming his "Ile Des Enfants Perdus" ,to no avail...The war put an end to everything.
After the war ,a wealthy person wanted Arletty to come back .She was unfairly blacklisted and we can understand why she was disgusted.She told the man "I would play again if you gave me back my Prévert/Carné/Trauner/Kosma team,but I know I'm asking too much".Such was Arletty's charisma -and her last movie to date was "les Enfants Du Paradis" looked upon as the masterpiece of the French cinema ,that she had her vow .
1947:The filming began in April and ended during the summer of the same year;some people say there was enough material to edit 25 min of film;actually it seems that about 20% was filmed.The cast included ,apart from Arletty (whose part remains mysterious,the documentary tells nothing or almost nothing about the character she was supposed to play), Anouk Aimée (debut) ,Martine Carol ,Serge Reggiani,Paul Meurisse ..Belle Isle En Mer became a French Hollywood in miniature.
Under the pressure of events (the censorship was already here,the producers were afraid the movie might be a colossal flop),Prevert and Carné gave up in the summer of 47.
"Carnet de Naufrage" is an absorbing documentary,even if it leaves the viewer hungry for more .Particularly interesting is actor Pierre Trabaud 's intervention.He was not lucky in the movies and got lost in Leo Joannon's religious extravaganzas such as " Le Desert De Pigalle" and "Le Défroqué".Trabaud seems ill but his hoarse voice and his feverish eyes are fascinating:we feel his frustration and his regrets : "there's only one shot of me with Reggiani".
The title is ironical cause Carné and Carnet (=Notebook)are homonyms in French.But the main question is :where is the portion of the movie (which title was changed for "La Fleur De L'Age" )which was edited?Someone tells us he is certain that somebody somewhere owns it and that maybe someday...
NB:Trabaud passed away the same year.
Poet/screenwriter Jacques Prévert was shocked and decided to write a screenplay to expose these inhuman treatments .It was 1936 ,but censorship was hard on the writers ,and finally Prévert wrote "Jenny" who was Carné 's first feature-length movie.In the thirties,Prévert,now teaming up with Carné made several attempts at filming his "Ile Des Enfants Perdus" ,to no avail...The war put an end to everything.
After the war ,a wealthy person wanted Arletty to come back .She was unfairly blacklisted and we can understand why she was disgusted.She told the man "I would play again if you gave me back my Prévert/Carné/Trauner/Kosma team,but I know I'm asking too much".Such was Arletty's charisma -and her last movie to date was "les Enfants Du Paradis" looked upon as the masterpiece of the French cinema ,that she had her vow .
1947:The filming began in April and ended during the summer of the same year;some people say there was enough material to edit 25 min of film;actually it seems that about 20% was filmed.The cast included ,apart from Arletty (whose part remains mysterious,the documentary tells nothing or almost nothing about the character she was supposed to play), Anouk Aimée (debut) ,Martine Carol ,Serge Reggiani,Paul Meurisse ..Belle Isle En Mer became a French Hollywood in miniature.
Under the pressure of events (the censorship was already here,the producers were afraid the movie might be a colossal flop),Prevert and Carné gave up in the summer of 47.
"Carnet de Naufrage" is an absorbing documentary,even if it leaves the viewer hungry for more .Particularly interesting is actor Pierre Trabaud 's intervention.He was not lucky in the movies and got lost in Leo Joannon's religious extravaganzas such as " Le Desert De Pigalle" and "Le Défroqué".Trabaud seems ill but his hoarse voice and his feverish eyes are fascinating:we feel his frustration and his regrets : "there's only one shot of me with Reggiani".
The title is ironical cause Carné and Carnet (=Notebook)are homonyms in French.But the main question is :where is the portion of the movie (which title was changed for "La Fleur De L'Age" )which was edited?Someone tells us he is certain that somebody somewhere owns it and that maybe someday...
NB:Trabaud passed away the same year.