My favourite line in this lovely, lyrical film is when the creepy Zabel says to our handsome and virile hero "I know why you came here (i.e. to the port). You came here for the ships" thus exposing the hero's secret. And I thought: "Of course, that's why we all come here (i.e. to the cinema), for those ships that are preparing to sail to Venezuela" We never get to Venezuela and neither does our doomed hero but that's not why we're here. Our hero, at first, is wrapped in the worsted wool of an army uniform and when he meets the beautiful heroine she is enclosed in a shiny, weather repellent coat. They both loose these carapaces in favour of more roomy, more approachable outfits that allow them to display themselves and slowly, as the film progresses, become vulnerable and aware of their tragic fates.We never see the beautiful Nelly's murdered lover, the only indication of his appearance is a cuff link, found under the stairs in the wine cellar. And the kindest and wisest man in the film has a hat that he got in Panama, somewhere we'll probably never get to either. It makes me think that the people who made the film are the Panama hat, lying in the foggy shadows somewhere out there on the edge of the quay.

Jean Gabin and Michelle Morgan star in the stylish Marcel Carne film, "Port of Shadows," made in 1938. There is simply no one like Jean Gabin - Hollywood had no idea what to do with him - here he was, this amazing leading man who looked like a character actor. Thankfully, the French knew what they had and kept him busy for 48 years.Gabin plays Jean, a military deserter who comes into the French port of Le Havre, intending to leave aboard ship for Venezuela. He meets the beautiful Nelly and is adopted by a small dog. Nelly is a real man magnet; she has a boyfriend Maurice, a father figure who is in love with her named Zabel, and Lucien, a hood in love with her. She and Jean fall in love, even though in her heart she knows that he has to leave Le Havre.These French films out-noir American film noirs, and this is a stylish, dark film filled with sadness, with a depressing ambiance throughout. If you were miserable when you started watching it, you'll be a mess when it's over. What I've gone through for Gabin - he was in so many dark, depressing films! If you're a fan of film noir (and/or Gabin), this is for you.

Le quai des brumes is a french film made in 1938 and directed by Marcel Carné. The plot of the film revolves around a military deserter named Jean who is trying to leave the country to avoid being forced back into service. While getting ready for his escape he happens across a dog that he takes in and falls in love with a young woman named Nelly who he tries to protect. Le quai des brumes is a provocative film with a strong cast and even stronger writing. The cinematography is unique as well with its visually dark ascetics which would become the hallmark of the film noir movement in America in later years . The theme of the film is based around the idea of a hostile and alienating world in which the people are unable to escape their inevitable and untimely fate. This theme is strongly emphasized by the fact that most of the characters introduced in the film die horrible deaths or live with deep regrets. While this is a good film and I did enjoy it up to a certain point the plot presents a fairly bleak world view and shows a lot of the characters with less than desirable personality traits and goes as far as to subtly make fun of them. An example of this is in the scene in where Jean talks to a stranger about cubist painting . In conclusion i would recommend Le quai des brumes for anyone who wants to see a classic french film or study films that later influenced the creation of film noir .If you like this film I would recommend Leon the professional, Blade runner and Dark City which all can trace aspects of their creation back to Le quai des brumes and to the Poetic realism movement in France.

I really enjoyed this movie, I think that the depiction of the traveling soldier was well played. In the beginning, there is a mysterious man that the soldier talks to who ends up offering him all of his clothes so that he can remain in hiding from the military. It is never stated, but we later see the man walking naked into the sea and never returning, leading us to believe that he had planned to "be taken by the sea." The allusion to what happened without actually showing it allows the audience to create their own story about what really happened to this mysterious and generous man.The somewhat cold soldier soon loosens up when he falls for a local girl; they end up spending much of their time together and we start to see the soldier's real character shine through his generous actions toward the girl.