Port of Shadows

Port of Shadows
****/5
Marcel Carne

The handling of multiple characters is astoundingly accomplished. Each character with dialogue is somehow tenderly developed within minutes, and as a result, no characters blend together. They can even leave the screen for large chunks of time and drop back in easily. Important events are all preceded by a small setup that allows you to recognize the action, no matter how small, at the point it is important (eg: Lucien picking off the hats of others in the bumper car ride). Even with this skilled storytelling, the writing is what falls short the most (apart from the acting from Pierre Brasseur), with characters announcing things the audience has already figured out. Zabel declares his motivations long after they were implied; the painter explains his entire character to people who already know him. The dialogue is often corny and sometimes I wonder if I would like certain foreign films as much if they were in English.