Movie Night

Monday is movie night chez Zen. Last Monday Sovay and I watched the French classic, "Les enfants du paradis," directed by Marcel Carné. I had watched it years ago while living in Paris. The dialogue was filled with wit, poetry, and musings on life and love...and how could it not be, having been penned by French poet Jacques Prévert?

The movie had a different weight and quality this time around. I first watched it at the end of my teens...and remember sympathizing with the star-crossed lovers- Baptiste and Garance, being mystified by Lacenaire, sorry for the Count of Montray, endlessly annoyed by the pathetic Nathalie. A couple decades later and my allegiances have shifted: Baptiste and Garance said it all (pun intended- Baptiste is a mime) during their scene at the Funambules: they are idealized love- eternal, endless...but such epic love is only sustainable in small doses, for as Nathalie states, it's the day-to-day that challenges romance. Nathalie seems almost heroic, persevering in her need to show Baptiste the beauty and joy in that difficult day-to-day life. The Count of Montray: puts the boo in boor. Lacenaire? The catalyst: the trickster who is behind the great shifts in the plot.

The changes in my opinion and perspective were surprising to me and also something of a relief. I have to say, though, that the biggest surprise I had watching the movie was the fact that I found it so lovely, so dream-like that I had carried scenes of it with me all these years in my mind... in brilliant color.

The official trailer (which has that dramatic 'old-timey' vibe to it) to the movie here (I recommend watching without volume):