I'm a big fan of French cinema but... - Les enfants du paradis (1946) Discussion

[–] Burleigh7 15 years ago

Name them; I can't name one better.

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[–] Just_Opinions 14 years ago

I'd have to agree with the OP. I had high expectations and was utterly disappointed. I'm sure I could easily come up with 50 movies if I spent enough time but below are 25 (some of which I didn't even all that much care for) that I thought were EASILY better than this movie. Of course, that is a matter of my opinion. This movie had good acting, decent dialogue, good direction but the story was long and drawn out and just downright boring. It wasn't original, nor insightful, nor profound in anyway, at least to my observations, even allowing for the fact that it was made in the 1940s.

Leon
Jean de Florette
Diabolique
Pour elle
Le corbeau
Le deuxième souffle
Amélie
Un long dimanche de fiançailles
L'histoire d'Adèle H.
La haine
La cage aux folles
La battaglia di Algeri
Le mystère Picasso
Le salaire de la peur
La nuit américaine
Trois couleurs: Rouge
La double vie de Véronique
La grande illusion
La science des rêves
Le locataire
Coco avant Chanel
À la folie... pas du tout
Hors de prix
À bout de souffle
Un homme et une femme

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[–] lin-chi 13 years ago

Indeed, and of all those named, only a handful even come close.

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[–] archiveit 14 years ago

Really? I'm generally bored by French films compared to many other countries, but I thought this was a masterpiece.

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[–] Tchoutoye 13 years ago

With such an acclaimed film I was expecting something profound and gripping. Instead I was disappointed by the fact that it was such a straightforward melodrama with almost no subtext. Why did it need 3 hours for such a dull "(s)he loves me, (s)he loves me not" plot? The only interesting thing about the film was the crowd scenes.

I'm not a particularly big fan of French cinema, but even I can name at least 40 films, all of them better than Children of Paradise:

Zéro de conduite
L'Atalante
Le main du diable
Les yeux sans visage
Judex
La tete contre les murs
Le Sang des Betes
Le journal d'une femme de chambre
Belle de Jour
La voie lactée
Le charme discrete de la Bourgeoisie
Le Corbeau
Les Diaboliques
La Prisonniere
Le Salaire de la peur
Quai des Orfevre
Themroc
Le Sang d'un poete
Orphée
Le Testament d'Orphée
La grande illusion
La Bête humaine
La Règle du jeu
Le Mépris
Alphaville
Weekend
400 Coups
La grande illusion
L'Année dernière à Marienbad
Hiroshima mon amour
La Grande bouffe
"Z"
Touchez pas au grisbi
Le Jetée
Les Biches
Que la bête meure
La Femme infidèle
Le Boucher
Les Noces rouges
La Piscine
La Maitresse
Caché
Temps du loup
La Maitresse
Sheitan

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[–] paulritter 13 years ago

I find it hard to detach myself from the knowledge that the romantic world of the theater and boulevard life was being filmed at a time of such unbelievable real-life savagery.

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[–] Alphonse_van_Worden 13 years ago

Strange this movie is usually disliked by people who don't like any old movies and certainly not the French ones. Anyway to me it's the greatest French movie ever and even a strong contender to be the greatest movie I've ever seen. It would be stupid to name one but if I had to.

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[–] Endy7 13 years ago

What's "French cinema"? All the films made by directors who have French citizenship?... doesn't say much.

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[–] Ithilfaen 12 years ago

Doesn't say much why? It's definitely a lost cause now but French cinema was at least as good if not better sometimes than Hollywood cinema in the golden era of the classics. Or is it just a stab at French people in general?

For every lie I unlearn I learn something new - Ani Difranco

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[–] Ithilfaen 12 years ago

I love it. On the other hand, I never understood why people were raving about Les Visiteurs du Soir.

Cinema is not a competitive sport. Not sure how anyone is qualified to talk about a movie being "better" or worse than others. Not unless we're talking about crap like VanDamme movies or direct to DVD junk. It's just a question of personal preference and your own sensibility.

For every lie I unlearn I learn something new - Ani Difranco

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[–] nickryder9 12 years ago

I absolutely love this film, but not really sure why. Like the theme of the film, love is something intagible, the reasons are unclear, but you know it when you feel it!

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