Although as a director Marcel Carne is still in fine shape in L'Air de Paris, he's hampered by an unwieldy and messy screenplay -- one that he himself co-authored with Jacques Sigurd. Paris tells a very familiar tale -- and tells it poorly at that. Although superficially the film is concerned with notions of class and human contact and struggles to break free from the metaphorical chains that bind one to a person or a situation, Paris really doesn't delve much below the surface in examining these ideas. The dialogue is trite and the character development is predictable; very little happens in the story that one can't seem coming a mile away. However, Paris does provide Carne and the excellent cinematographer Roger Hubert with the chance to capture the City of Lights in its glory; landmarks dot the picture, often for no real reason, and the beauty of the locations does provide a diversion from the tired story. The young lovers of the film, Rolanmd Le Saffre and Marie Daems, are adequate and nothing more; but as the couple who have carried a lot of baggage between them, Jean Gabin and Arletty are wonderful.
by Craig Butler
review
