morrison-dylan-fan Planning to watch 5 French films connected to the Occupation of France,I struggled to find a suitable title which would show what effect the end of the Occupation had on French cinema.Taking a look at a fellow IMDbers reviews,I stumbled across a film which co- writer/(along with Jean Ferry)director Henri-Georges Clouzot had made as a response to getting banned from making movies for 5 years by the French Resistance over his previous film being seen as critical against the Resistance,which led to me getting ready to meet Manon.The plot:France-The late 1940s: Hearing strange noises from the cargo bay of their boat,the crew discover 2 stowaways called Robert Dégrieux and Leon Lescaut.With Dégrieux being wanted for murder,the ships captain prepares to bring them in,but is stopped in his tracks by Lescaut,who tells the captain that he must allow Dégrieux to explain what they are running away from.France-The early-mid 1940s:Joining some American soldiers in their battle to free a city, Dégrieux find the local residence surrounding Lescaut,who they want to humiliate via shaving her head,due to having strong suspicions that Lescaut is a Nazi collaborator.Wanting Lescaut to face the full justice of the law, Dégrieux pulls Lescaut from the crowd,and takes her back to his hideout.Planning to give her over to his superiors, Dégrieux finds that despite being sickened by Lescaut's past activities,that he is unable to stop himself from falling in love with Lescaut.With the libation of France from Hitler,the young couple find themselves in a small apartment and low-paying jobs.Dazzled by new material possessions flooding the high streets, Dégrieux promises Lescaut that he will spend every penny he has on getting all the luxury goods that she desires.Being well aware of the low wage Dégrieux is on,Lescaut decides that the only way she can live the life that she so desires,is to secretly enter the underworld once again.View on the film:Banned from making films from 1943-1947 (when Quai des Orfèvres was made) Jean Ferry and co-writer/director Henri-Georges Clouzot's loose adaptation of Abbé Prévost's novel "L'Histoire du Chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut" burns with an unrelenting fury. Transferring the XVIIIth century set book to the '40s,the writers attack every area of Occupied/Post-War France with a Film Noir heart,as Lescaut obsession with the consumer culture is shown to be a soulless entity which pulls Lescaut back into the darkness of the war time era. Attacking those who had made him an outcast,Clouzot's shows the former "The Resistance" fighters to be cold hearted devils,who along with accepting everything at face value,are also determined to block any sunlight from entering Dégrieux & Lescaut relationship.Hitting back at those who had tried to make him fall,(talk about getting on the wrong side of the guy!) director Henri-Georges Clouzot and cinematographer Armand Thirard seal Dégrieux & Lescaut in a merciless Film Noir world,as Clouzot subtly uses a charcoal depth of field to show that even gold can not glitter in this world,with Clouzot giving the title a chilling atmosphere of impending doom,by scattering tightly coiled tracking shots to show the dark world closing in on Dégrieux and Lescaut. Empathizing the bleak mood built in the indoor scenes,Clouzot gives the outdoor scenes a very contrasting appearance,thanks to Clouzot painting the outdoors as a stark,burning white desert wasteland,which along with allowing Clouzot to take a little dip into Adventure-movie mode(!),also gives Clouzot the chance to take a mature allegorical route in showing how wrong his critics were,as Dégrieux & Lescaut find their one moment of happiness in the promise land.Offering his heart and all the jewels that she desires, Michel Auclair gives an extraordinary,gritty performance as Robert Dégrieux, Initially appearing calm and collective, Auclair pulls everyone of Dégrieux's nerves out to reveal his vulnerability towards Lescaut,as Auclair shows Dégrieux to be a Film Noir loner, who's growing obsession with Lescaut leads him to an ocean of death. Appearing like a fragile doll,the beautiful Cécile Aubry sets the film alight as burning hot femme fatale Manon Lescaut. Striking a fine balance,Aubry gives Lescaut a sweet, joyful nature which gets under Dégrieux skin,which is countered with Lescaut's hard-edge fight for all that she desires,as Lescaut reveals to Dégrieux the real resistance.

maksquibs With his short CV, Henri-George Clouzot is known only for his international hits, WAGES OF FEAR and DIABOLIQUE, yet every newfound title turns out to be a near masterpiece. This updated take on the infamous Prevost tale (operatic versions include Auber, Massenet & Puccini) is a notch below breathtaking 'finds' like QUAI DES ORFEVRES, LE CORBEAU and his striking film of the Verdi REQUIEM. But on its own terms it's ingenious & effective, perfectly fitting the story into the morally ambiguous climate of post WWII France.As the heedless young beauty who loves the rich life when she should love her besotted spouse (and vice versa), Cecile Aubry makes an appalling & devastating French sex-kitten, admittedly, an acquired taste. Michel Auclair, in Gerard Philipe mode, is very fine as her tormented husband and Serge Reggiani as Manon's amoral brother is beyond praise. And who but Clouzot would have the chutzpah to merge Manon's exile to a group of Jewish refugees trying to smuggle themselves into Israel.NOTE: This title is currently unavailable in ANY video format. Is there no justice?!

Bob Taylor I can imagine that Clouzot took on the task of filming this classic with a lot of trepidation: it's just not his kind of story. A picaresque novel of 1734, with aristocratic ideals in conflict with a sordid story was not going to be well-handled by a director who pioneered the noir form in France. His forte was telling a gritty story with characters stretched to the breaking point (as Montand and Vanel were in Wages of Fear). It required a great deal of updating and tinkering with the basic story before Clouzot could feel comfortable with it.Cecile Aubry does not impress me with her acting skills; she mainly pouts and sighs her way through the picture. How much more could Danielle Darrieux or Micheline Presle have brought to the film! Michel Auclair was a superb leading man who made many films, this is one of his best (see him also in Maigret et l'affaire Saint-Fiacre). Here he manages to convey desire, murderous rage and exasperation with Manon's whims. Dora Doll and her big toothy grin, as well as Gabrielle Dorziat as the prim madam of Manon's brothel were good, but Serge Reggiani as Manon's brother stole every scene he was in.

newbear I have seen this film a long time ago, perhaps in 1958 at Prague Film School (FAMU). It still haunts me, unlike many, many other entirely forgettable "movies", I would love to have a copy. The film has an essence of what my generation lived, what my children have forgotten, and what we are powerless to remind them of.