Children of Paradise

March 2025 marks the 80th anniversary of the premiere of Marcel Carné’s Children of Paradise—a towering triumph of cinematic artistry over the grim realities of war. Written and filmed under the constraints of Nazi-occupied Vichy France, the film is a luminous tribute to 19th-century boulevard theater and the vibrant world of misfits, visionaries, and charlatans who inhabit it. At the heart of this theatrical universe is the enigmatic Garance—portrayed by Arletty in a career-defining performance—around whom orbit four men, each consumed by their love for her: the delicate and devoted mime Baptiste (Jean-Louis Barrault), the ambitious actor Frédérick (Pierre Brasseur), the dandyish criminal Lacenaire (Marcel Herrand), and the aristocratic Édouard (Louis Salou)

The film was created by an extraordinary effort of imagination, courage and cunning. The screenplay—written in occupied France by poetic realism guru Jacques Prévert—is a literary masterpiece. The scenery of the famous “boulevard of crime” and theatrical interiors were conjured up in a studio in Nice by set designer Alexandre Trauner. The result is an immortal classic whose proper place is on the big screen.

Michał Oleszczyk

Marcel Carné (1906–1996) was one of the greatest figures in French cinema and a master of poetic realism. His masterpiece, Children of Paradise (1945), is considered one of the most significant films in cinema history. Collaborating with Jacques Prévert, he created classics like Port of Shadows (1938) and Le Jour Se Lève (1938), marked by deep melancholy and social awareness. His films captured the essence of pre-war France and the struggles of those on its fringes. Carné’s legacy endures as he shaped some of the most poignant cinematic tales of love, fate, and human longing.

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