'Film Noir' was a French term for a type of violent, pessimistic American film that started to appear around and after the second World War, usually shot in sparse, dark rooms at night, at least partly to save money.
Often they would take place in flashback - as in Double Indemnity, DOA, and Sunset Boulevard - with the fate of the hero already carved in stone, and the film just the series of bad decisions and treacherous women leading up to his fall.
Oddly though, this French film might be the one that started all of that, and though it might not compare with the Chandleresque dialogue and fast-moving shoot-em-ups that followed, it is decidedly more beautiful, mysterious and atmospheric.
On the downside, even though it is a short film it drags, and there are some poorly developed characters and plotholes (François following Françoise all the way into town about 10 feet behind her in an empty street while pushing a bike and she never sees?)
I've only seen it the once but I was confused as to the relationship between François, Françoise and Valentin: first we were told these two new lovers with the same name happened to be raised in the same orphanage, then an older man who is having an affair with the female one claims to be her father. This plot twist doesn't seem to lead anywhere but thin air, and I would have thought the much better story would have been the revelation that Valentin was BOTH of their fathers, and hence the two lovers were actually brother and sister. Was this a storyline left undeveloped because of its taboo nature? I don't know, but I feel it would have been a much better catalyst for François shooting Valentin than the somewhat unconvincing showdown in the final film.
In conclusion: it's a flawed jewel from the past: watch for the exquisite photography and silver atmosphere, as well as the central performances, especially from Jean Gabin, who was perhaps never better.
Often they would take place in flashback - as in Double Indemnity, DOA, and Sunset Boulevard - with the fate of the hero already carved in stone, and the film just the series of bad decisions and treacherous women leading up to his fall.
Oddly though, this French film might be the one that started all of that, and though it might not compare with the Chandleresque dialogue and fast-moving shoot-em-ups that followed, it is decidedly more beautiful, mysterious and atmospheric.
On the downside, even though it is a short film it drags, and there are some poorly developed characters and plotholes (François following Françoise all the way into town about 10 feet behind her in an empty street while pushing a bike and she never sees?)
I've only seen it the once but I was confused as to the relationship between François, Françoise and Valentin: first we were told these two new lovers with the same name happened to be raised in the same orphanage, then an older man who is having an affair with the female one claims to be her father. This plot twist doesn't seem to lead anywhere but thin air, and I would have thought the much better story would have been the revelation that Valentin was BOTH of their fathers, and hence the two lovers were actually brother and sister. Was this a storyline left undeveloped because of its taboo nature? I don't know, but I feel it would have been a much better catalyst for François shooting Valentin than the somewhat unconvincing showdown in the final film.
In conclusion: it's a flawed jewel from the past: watch for the exquisite photography and silver atmosphere, as well as the central performances, especially from Jean Gabin, who was perhaps never better.