Les visiteurs du soir

Plot synopsis:
In May 1485 two of the devil's envoys, Gilles (Alain Cuny) and Dominique (Arletty), arrive at the castle of Baron Hugues (Fernand Ledoux) on the night of a celebration for his daughter's engagement. The Baron's daughter, Anne (Marie Déa), is set to marry Renaud (Marcel Herrand), a warlord who prefers talking about battle more than reciting love poems. Disguised as traveling minstrels, Gilles and Dominique enter the castle and use their powers of enticement to ruin the upcoming nuptials. Gilles seduces the innocent Anne, while both the Baron and Renaud become bewitched with Dominique. But, when Gilles accidentally falls in love with Anne, the Devil (Jules Berry) arrives to ensure that any true happiness is destroyed. When Gilles and Anne are caught together in her room, Gilles is thrown into the dungeon, and Anne and Renaud's engagement is called off.
When the Baron and Renaud realize that they are both in love with Dominique, they duel to the death and Renaud is killed. Following the Devil's orders, Dominique leaves the castle and entices the Baron to follow her in suit. Intrigued by Anne's unusual purity and faith in love, the Devil decides he wants Anne for himself. Making a deal with the Devil, Anne agrees to be with him in return for the Devil releasing Gilles from chains. Once Gilles is free, the Devil strips Gilles of his memory and Gilles walks off leaving Anne with the Devil. But, once Gilles is gone, Anne reveals that she lied and that she could never love the Devil. Returning to the fountain where she and Gilles first pronounced their love, Anne and Gilles reunite and through the power of love, Gilles recovers his memory. Finding the two once again in love, the Devil changes them both into statues, but finds that, even underneath stone, their hearts continue to beat.

Tags: good versus evil, cult, romantic

Review:
Art!.
This was the fifth of the six Great films directed by Marcel Carne between 1937 & 1945, again with writing collaboration from Jacques Prevert, and perhaps the most neglected.
So much so I've yet to see a good print, my latest one from French TV seems to have horses galloping (albeit softly) throughout the soundtrack while the film seems to have been bashed about a bit.
Never mind; Carne's career was littered with excellent films but Visiteurs was one of his best - maybe it's best seen now without thinking of metaphorical allusions to the then resistance against the Nazis (except as a piece de resistance?) And the best was still a few years off: the utter magnificence of Les Enfants Du Paradis.France 1485: shady Gilles (square jawed Cuny) and Dominique (worldly wise Arletty) arrive at Baron Hugues castle as melancholic minstrels intent on disrupting the marriage preparations going on – as any self respecting devilish envoy would.
Alas it goes awry for Gilles when he actually does fall in love with Anne the Baron's daughter (Dea) but Arletty manages to keep to her usual cynical straight and narrow course, and leads the Baron off his.
It's beautifully photographed on black & white nitrate film capturing atmospheric sunny days and romantic arc-moonlit nights, gorgeous costumes and fascinating sets equally well.
One can almost smell the fresh air!
One slight downer: the three midgets go from startling to plain irritating with their omnipresence.
It's all about Love, Honour & Purity poetically and elegantly related – which makes the denouement with the supposedly pure Anne and the for once nonplussed Devil so delightful and droll.
Even if out of scope for him he should still have been able to guess that all's fair in love!Remember: the Devil will always find work for idle hands to do, including his own.
Watch it for a thoughtful two hours of breath taking beauty strolling through a lost world as portrayed by another lost world.
Next: Les Enfants Du Paradis..
Once upon a time...
It's the only Carné-Prévert movie that takes place in another era,the Middle Ages.During the German occupation,it was an alibi:the Devil was meant to represent Hitler and the two lovers the Resistance.But for the people at the time,their hints at French plight were so disguised -or else,it would have been banned by the censorship-,they only saw the escapist movie which they did need.Over the years,the movie has lost some of its charms:after a brilliant introduction,the pace remains too slow and it's hard to believe that Alain Cuny and Marie Déa are eaten with desire.As always in Carné's movies,it's the supporting cast that walks out with the honors:Arletty is as splendid as ever in her androgynous beauty,and Jules Berry is ideally cast as the Devil.Though it remains inferior to "le jour se lève" and "les enfants du paradis" ,"les visiteurs du soir" is a curiosity for French movies buffs.People who like it should see "l'éternel retour",a collaboration between Jean Delannoy and Jean Cocteau.NB :"Children of paradise " also takes place in another era ,the nineteenth century;sorry..
Carné and Prévert at their best.
Simply the most beautiful and moving movie that stemmed from the "réalisme poétique" movement.
A truly atemporal story, despite the resistance allusions which can live long after the end of WWII.What makes me really love this movie is the contrast between the very dated conventions of acting, the seemingly slow pace that was the rule at a time the video clips were still waiting in an unforeseeable future and the perfect consistency of the characters and psychology.
The emotion is still intact no matter how much the way actors and directors are supposed to convey it has changed over decades.What a bunch of great actors!
True professionals working seamlessly together to serve a masterly written script.
I really advise non-french speaking people to watch it in original version with subtitles, to enjoy the music of Prevert's poetic lines.This movie is a real gem..
Great, fascinating tale.
A relatively little-known but fascinating movie.
Made during the German occupation of France, the film is set in the Late Middle Ages and deals with two envoys of the devil, Gilles and Dominique (Alain Cuny and Arletty, wonderful both) that arrive posing as wandering minstrels at the castle of a Baron where preparations for an upcoming wedding are being made.
Their intention is to create havoc by breaking the hearts of all involved.
These envoys have extraordinary powers to achieve these goals, like slowing time to a stop so that they can work on their targets at ease.
Eventually, the very devil shows up at the castle in disguise.
One can argue that the devil in the movie stands for Hitler and the Nazis and so forth, but the film works even if you don't try to watch it as a metaphor for the contemporary events of the time.
The movie is memorable and evocative, with many great scenes and a great ending..
a beautiful movie.
The heavy censorship imposed during the german occupation made it difficult for cineasts to find non controversial subjects.
Jacques Prévert and Marcel Carné came up with this medieval tale of love and sorcery with a prestigious cast of great actors.
It has been claimed that the beating heart in the statue was a symbol of the Resistance..
What A Night.
The beauty of this stand-out collaboration between Jacques Prevert and Marcel Carne - in the middle of their great hitting streak - is that it works even without the 'coded' references which were a necessity at a time of German Occupation in France.
So even when you watch Jules Berry as just the Devil and not a symbol for Hitler and likewise view the two visitors not as symbols of the Resistance but merely two wandering minstrels it still plays and you'll go a long way to find a more poetic image/symbol than Prevert's finale in which the Devil turns the lovers to stone before our eyes yet their hearts keep on beating.
Not least of the pleasures on offer is future icon Simone Signoret as an extra but the whole schmeer, complete with some tasty lyrics by Prevert, is a total delight.
A masterpiece.
Unbelievably great film.
And chilling.
At one point I had to press pause and walk away.
Granted I do not watch very many truly shocking films but that never happens with me.
The story takes place in 1485 but it's about events in 1940.
The great director Marcel Carné, for whatever reason, insisted, until his death, the film was not an allegory for Hitler and WWII and that any correlation was unintentional.
Why would he deny it for 52 more years after the liberation of Paris?
The similarity is astounding and it's surprising that Nazi censors never caught on to ban this film.
Carné was under Nazi leadership when he made this.
It could have gotten him sent to a concentration camp.
But he was sneaky and to this day we have an amazing film about Hitler's rise and the French Resistance.
Tremendously well acted.
Some complain the film's a little slow but everything builds so nicely and has its place.
A masterpiece and highly recommended!8.7 / 10 stars--Zoooma, a Kat Pirate Screener.
A high class fantasia.
Here is a fine production by Julien Duvivier.I had the impression to be one of the castle's festivity and the arrival of the "Visiteurs" added a mysterious ingredient that had, at the beginning at least, nothing of the despair that was part of their demoniacal mission.The enchantment provoked by the satanic couple was a pure wonder.
That momentary paralysis of a whole small world between two exciting scenes emphasized Arletty's and Cuny's masterly talent.Jules Berry's play (the Devil) was so fascinating that it made me longing for a ticket to Hell.That high class "fantasia" glide far over all those easy big budget "fantastic" productions which flood the film fans since too long..
If You Appreciate Art....
I'll be the first to admit that I am probably a little more adventurous than many of my movie watching friends and co-workers.
Whereas a majority of them will stick to recent or popular fare I have taken an active interest in the history of the film industry and thus will often research great movies from the past.
I'm curious to know if movies that have been universally acclaimed as great or classic films are truly great or are they merely reaping the benefit of nostalgia.
A movie could be great for it's time or classic in a sense of the era that it was created in or even by who was involved in it's creation.
I think it's safe to say that the technological advances in the modern film industry are unprecedented and cannot be ignored.
With that being said, technology, in my opinion, cannot replace, diminish or supersede intelligent writing, inspired direction and career-defining performances by legendary actors.
The passage of time and the boundaries of language can't lesson the ability of art to captivate those who appreciate artistic things.
This is the case with "Les Visituers Du Soir".
Despite it's lack of color imagery and it's French only audio or it's age (released in 1942) Marcel Carne's medieval fantasy does not fail to entertain.
In doesn't attempt to overwhelm or distract you with excessive action or special effects like most modern fantasies.
Rather it delivers convincing depictions of a time and a place that we could only read about before.
It's characters and their motivations are easy to relate to and it's pacing is both leisurely and deliberate.
It's themes of love, lust, happiness, sadness, jealousy, rejection, hope and despair are universal.
I won't cover the plot because so many others have done so but I will give this film my unconditional recommendation to fans of world cinema or just cinema in general.
Love Wins.
The film being produced during the Nazi occupation years by André Paulvé and directed by Marcel Carné leaves some stones not turned over but in spite of all things related to the weather, financing, and German ultimate control of film production.
'Les Visiteurs du Soir,' is a firm declaration that true love can survive in spite of any of the devil's attempts to refute any realism and transcendence of the love between two human souls.A devil's envoy falls in love with Anne, a woman who is engaged to marry another man.
Gilles has signed an agreement in blood with the devil to relinquish his soul and must therefore assist him in obtaining more souls.
Dominique, also a devil's envoy, gets both Barons Renaud and Hugue to accept the love of herself, despite the fact that she is incapable of loving.
Obtaining promises from both of them is enough..
In Nazi-Occupied France....
At the end of the 15th century, two minstrels (Gilles and Dominique) come from nowhere into the castle of Baron Hugues.
Gilles charms Anne, Hughes' daughter, while Dominique charms both Hugues and Ann's fiancé.
Gilles and Dominique are not really in love: they are sent by the Devil to desperate people.
But Ann is so pure that Gilles is caught to his own trap.
How will they fight against the Devil?
One of the reasons that the film was such a huge success was due to murmuring before the film was released that the film was an allegory for the current situation.
Many people saw the character of the Devil as representing Hitler and the continued beating hearts of the lovers as representing France living under German rule, but not giving up hope.
Carné maintained until his death that the film was not an intentional allegory for the war and that any relationship was purely unconscious.As far as French fantasy films go, this is not the greatest one out there.
For me, that would probably be "Donkeyskin".
But this does have a few things going for it.
One, it is much earlier than "Donkeyskin", so has the advantage of being first.
Two, it has the Devil, which rises it from fantasy or fairy tale to a more religious context, meaning that deeper symbolism can be found (whether intended or not).But I think its best quality is the association with Hitler that the Devil has, as noted above.
I am willing to believe this was not intentional.
But it does seem like a great message to get out of a film made during the occupation...
this is a country of Frenchmen who had to keep their French pride in check.
That turns this into a patriotic film, even if it has nothing to do with 20th century France on the surface.