I’ve come to love a movie that brings together a group of disparate and desperate souls who come together and form something of a family. Port of Shadows is an wonderful example of this.
Buy Port of ShadowsWe meet Jean (Jean Gabin) hitchhiking on the road to Le Havre. He wears the uniform of a soldier, but we’ll quickly learn he has deserted. He’s grown tired of war, tired of killing. He’s in need of a fresh start. Le Havre is a port town, and he thinks he can catch a boat to somewhere. Anywhere. Away from here. But he has no money or papers.
He meets a drunk who takes him to a run-down bar at the edges of town, near the port. Panama (Édouard Delmont), the proprietor, takes him in, gives him a meal and a drink, and says he might be able to find him some clothes and papers. There are others there: a suicidal artist, a shabby-looking man with a beard and a dark look in his eye named Zabel (Michel Simon), and Nelly (Michèle Morgan), iconic in her beret and transparent raincoat.
Nelly is young and beautiful. This has attracted the attention of many men, including her godfather, whom she lives with, and a wannabe gangster named Lucien (Pierre Brasseur). For a time, the attention of these men was exciting. She enjoyed the attention, and it got her out of the house, away from the hands of her godfather. But she’s grown tired of it. These men often want more than she is willing to give; they’ve become demanding. They act tough and protective, but they are cold and empty inside.
She’s standing there in the kitchen of this broken-down home of the despondent, this refuge for the lonely, gazing out the window, without hope. She hardly notices Jean sitting there eating, and at first, he doesn’t notice her. But then they begin to talk, and she’s struck by how different he is. How he doesn’t immediately try to grope her, how he is strong without having to act it.
They go on a walk, and Lucien shows up, all puffed up and squawking. He pulls Nelly aside, and at first, Jean lets him. This is none of his business, but when Lucien tries to get tough, Jean intervenes and shows him what tough is really like.
Director Marcel Carné handles all of this beautifully. This is a fine example of French poetic realism, where everything was created on a soundstage, designed to look realistic but with a slight stylistic edge. They could have easily called it Port of Fog, as everything is drenched in an eerie mist. It looks absolutely amazing.
If I have one complaint, it is that the plot uses coincidence a little too often. After their first romantic interval, Jean leaves Nelly and takes a walk. He spies a little trinket that would make a perfect gift for her. Inside the store, he is greeted by Zabel, who runs the place, and Nelly, who lives there with him. In all the little shops in all the little towns, he had walked into hers…
Later, she’ll just happen to find a button that belonged to her missing ex-boyfriend. This leads her to believe that Zabel must have killed him, and she’s able to use that to keep him from alerting the authorities about Jean being a deserter. This will lead to other actions and the film’s grim finale.
The coincidences come a little too neatly for my tastes, but other than that, this is a fine film.
This was Michèle Morgan’s first screen credit, and it made her a star. I can see why. She is absolutely stunning, so poised and heartbreaking. Jean Gabin is likewise wonderful. He’s always good in everything, but he’s got that Humphrey Bogart quality here – tough and cynical with a tender heart – that’s just perfect. Everybody is good, really.
French films from this period tend to be unsentimental, and this one’s got a hard edge and a darkness to it. As it was made just months before Germany invaded Poland and France declared war on Germany, that seems entirely appropriate. You can feel that tension here even if it isn’t explicitly about World War II. But there is a warmth to the film as well. Life is hard for all of these characters, but there is also kindness and love.
Kino Lorber presents Port of Shadows with a new 4K restoration of the film by Transperfect Media. It comes with both a 4K UHD disc and a standard Blu-ray.
Extras include:
- Audio Commentary by Film Critic and Author Simon Abrams
- Introduction by Professor/Film Critic Ginette Vincendeau
- On the Port of the Shadows: Documentary
