Souvenirs perdus (1950)
Directed by Christian Jaque
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Synopsis by Hal Erickson
It has been said that French filmmaker Christian-Jacque specialized in two types of films: romantic mysteries and the celebration of historical artifacts. Souvenirs Perdus(1951) falls into both categories. The titular "lost souvenirs" are four unclaimed items, left in the Paris lost-and-found department. Each item has a story all its own, as Christian-Jacque entertainingly demonstrates. The first story concerns a pair of elderly lovers; the second is all about a police officer who pines over a beautiful girl; the third is a grim tale of the fateful meeting between a murderer and a potential suicide; and the fourth is the lighthearted saga of a playboy who finally outsmarts himself. Starring in these vignettes are such Gallic favorites as Pierre Brasseur, Bernard Blier, Yves Montand, Gerard Philipe and Suzy Delair.