{"id":343,"date":"2016-05-12T18:31:00","date_gmt":"2016-05-12T18:31:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mgs.performerstuff.com\/?p=343"},"modified":"2020-03-21T03:06:25","modified_gmt":"2020-03-21T03:06:25","slug":"theatre-in-film-les-enfants-du-paradis-children-of-paradise-1945","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/theatre-in-film-les-enfants-du-paradis-children-of-paradise-1945\/","title":{"rendered":"Theatre in Film Series: Les Enfants du Paradis (Children of Paradise) (1945)"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"fusion-one-full fusion-layout-column fusion-column-last fusion-spacing-yes\" style=\"margin-top:;margin-bottom:;\"><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper\"><div align=\"center\"><div class=\"imageframe-align-center\"><span class=\"fusion-imageframe imageframe-none imageframe-1 hover-type-none\"> <img src=\"http:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/banner_Childrenofparadise.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"img-responsive\"\/><\/span><\/div><\/div><h3>Theatre in Film\u00a0Series: <em>Les Enfants du\u00a0Paradis (Children of Paradise)<\/em>\u00a0(1945)<\/h3>\n<hr><font size=\"2\" color=\"grey\"><span style=\"border:1px solid ;-webkit-border-radius:50%;-moz-border-radius:50%;border-radius:50%;-moz-box-shadow: 0 0 3px rgba(0,0,0,.3);-webkit-box-shadow: 0 0 3px rgba(0,0,0,.3);box-shadow: 0 0 3px rgba(0,0,0,.3);margin-right:25px;float:left;\" class=\"fusion-imageframe imageframe-glow imageframe-2 hover-type-none\"><a class=\"fusion-no-lightbox\" href=\"http:\/\/performerstuff.com\" target=\"_self\"> <img src=\"http:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/12710766_10205760398984857_7629319873256247331_o-e1459537652369.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"img-responsive\" style=\"-webkit-border-radius:50%;-moz-border-radius:50%;border-radius:50%;\"\/><\/a><\/span><p>Written by Ashleigh Gardner<\/p>\n<p>May 10, 2016<\/p>\n<div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><\/font>\r\n<br>\r\n<div style=\"margin-left:36pt;text-align:left\"><p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I\u2019ve been in love with theatre for my entire life, but it wasn\u2019t until a few years ago that I began to truly appreciate film as its own art form. This series features films that display theatre and the lives of actors, directors, writers, and dancers who inhabit the stage.\u00a0So if you\u2019re itching to watch a film that knows\u00a0<\/span><i>your\u00a0<\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">life in theatre, check out\u00a0<\/span><em>Les Enfants du\u00a0Paradis (Children of Paradise)<\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><i>,\u00a0<\/i>our third\u00a0film, featured below.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"fusion-one-full fusion-layout-column fusion-column-last fusion-spacing-yes\" style=\"margin-top:;margin-bottom:;\"><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper\"><br><h4><em>Les Enfants du\u00a0Paradis (Children of Paradise)<\/em>\u00a0(1945)<\/h4>\n<div class=\"fusion-video fusion-youtube\" style=\"max-width:600px;max-height:350px;\"><div class=\"video-shortcode\"><iframe title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/GfqRRYDLKS8?wmode=transparent&autoplay=0\" width=\"600\" height=\"350\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div><\/div><br><p style=\"text-align: left;\"><b>Director: <\/b>Marcel Carn\u00e9<br \/>\n<strong>Starring:<\/strong>\u00a0L\u00e9onie Marie Julie Battait (&#8220;Arlette&#8221;),\u00a0Jean-Louis Barrault,\u00a0Pierre Brasseur,\u00a0Marcel Herrand,\u00a0Pierre Renoir, and Maria Casares<\/p>\n<br><h4 style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What happens:<\/span><\/h4>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Set during the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/July_Monarchy\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">July Monarchy<\/span><\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (1830-1848), <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Les Enfants du Paradis <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">opens in Paris on the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Boulevard_du_Crime\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u201cBoulevard of Crime,\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> a street featuring theatrical shows of all types. A beautiful and unattainable courtesan and actress, Garance (Arletty), is pursued by four men: a mime (Barrault), an actor (Brassuer), a thief\/playwright (Herrand), and a theatre-loving aristocrat (Renoir). Over the course of a few years, Garance woos and falls in love with the mime Baptiste, but must forsake their relationship after she is arrested for a crime she did not commit &#8212; and uses her connection with the aristocrat, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00c9douard de Montray, to escape imprisonment. Baptiste, once a lowly mime and the bane of his father\u2019s existence, later becomes a famous clown and marries his theatre co-star, Nathalie (Casares), much to the chagrin of Garance. After being discovered with Baptiste\u00a0by Nathalie, Garance flees, and Baptiste chases after Garance in the Carnival crowd. He loses sight of her, and in the final shot of the film, he is surrounded and swallowed by the crowd of people, still reaching for Garance.<\/span><\/p>\n<br><h4 style=\"text-align: left;\">Why it matters:<\/h4>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">The film is three hours long and presented in two parts, but <i>please <\/i>don\u2019t let that deter you from watching it in its entirety. Barrault and Arletty adopt naturalistic acting styles, and the phenomenal sets and detailed costumes bring a layer of authenticity to the film. And there are more hilarious insults about actors and theatre staff than I could have ever hoped for. One of the most incredible scenes in the film is the pantomime Baptiste performs detailing his perspective of how a man\u2019s watch is stolen. If you\u2019re a student of clowning or pantomime, this is a film to put on your inspiration list.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Even more than this standing as one of France\u2019s most brilliant films, it was produced in a time of intense cultural upheaval. Shot during the German occupation of France in WWII, <i>Les Enfants du Paradis <\/i>helped hide many <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/French_Resistance\" target=\"_blank\"><u>French Resistance<\/u><\/a> agents among the film\u2019s 1,800 extras. At the start of principal photography, the production encountered many serious setbacks, one of which involved the Nazis forbidding the producer, Andr\u00e9 Paulv\u00e9, from working on the film for three months because of his distant Jewish ancestry. One of the actors who played the thief J\u00e9richo (Robert Le Vigan) was sentenced to death by the Resistance after it was revealed that he collaborated with the Nazis during the film\u2019s production.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">This film isn\u2019t just about a woman who is loved by four men; it\u2019s about how the theatre affects our relationships with one another, particularly actors, dancers, and clowns. Our art can save people, entrance them, and make them fall in love (whether with us or our art is a different story). And though this is a French film, it aligns its characters with stock characters of the Italian <i>Commedia dell\u2019Arte<\/i>: Garance with <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Columbine\" target=\"_blank\"><u>Columbine<\/u><\/a>, Baptiste with <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Pierrot\" target=\"_blank\"><u>Pierrot<\/u><\/a>, Lema\u00eetre with <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Harlequin\" target=\"_blank\"><u>Harlequin<\/u><\/a>, Lacenaire with <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Pantalone\" target=\"_blank\"><u>Pantaloon<\/u><\/a>, and de Montray with the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Innamorati\" target=\"_blank\"><i><u>innamorato<\/u><\/i><\/a>. I promise this film does not disappoint.<\/p>\n<br><p style=\"text-align: left;\">This film is featured in Part I of &#8220;Theatre in Film&#8221;.\u00a0See below for the others in Part I.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/?p=133\"><u><em>42nd Street\u00a0<\/em>(1933)<\/u><\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/?p=342\"><strong><em><u>Stage Door<\/u><\/em>\u00a0(1937)<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/?p=346\"><strong><em>All About Eve<\/em>\u00a0(1950)<\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/theatre-in-film-limelight-1952\/\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><em>Limelight<\/em>\u00a0(1952)<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>*Banner image from\u00a0<em>Les Enfants du Paradis.\u00a0<\/em>Copyright\u00a0\u00a9 1945 Path\u00e9.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><hr \/>\n<h5 style=\"text-align: left;\"><em><strong>Ashleigh Gardner<\/strong>\u00a0received her AA in Theatre\/Drama\/Dramatic Arts\u00a0from Valencia College and\u00a0her Bachelors Degree in English Literature and\u00a0Masters Degree in Literary, Cultural, and Textual Studies from\u00a0the University of Central Florida. She is a playwright and an actor.<\/em><\/h5>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [...]","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":345,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[259,265],"tags":[83,318,8,308,319,339,338,80,10,337,336,14],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/343"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=343"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/343\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/345"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=343"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=343"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=343"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}