Les Visiteurs du soir (1942) - film review

In the 15th Century, two travelling musicians named Gilles and Dominique arrive at the castle of Baron Hugues, amid celebrations for the impending marriage between Hugues’ daughter Anne and a knight Renaud.  The two musicians are in truth emissaries of the Devil, sent to disrupt the wedding for their own amusement.  Whilst Dominque seduces Renaud, Gilles makes an easy conquest of Anne.  However, Anne’s purity overwhelms Gilles and he in turn falls in love with her.  This unexpected turn of events forces the Devil into making a personal appearance...

Les Visiteurs du soir is one of a series of timeless masterpieces which came out of the fruitful collaboration between director Marcel Carné and screenwriter Jacques Prévert.  The film was hailed as a major cinematographic achievement upon its release in 1942 and was one of the most popular films made under the Nazi Occupation.  A combination of an excellent script, compelling performances and some inspired camera work makes this a superlative and quite distinctive piece of cinema.

On the acting front, it is Jules Berry who is most memorable, playing the role of the Devil with a burlesque relish, replete with villainous charm.  Although his portrayal of Lucifer as an ageing disreputable Don Juan is familiar from many earlier films, his arrival really does bring the film to life at its flagging mid-point.  Arletty, another major star of the era, is equally captivating, in a part that plays to her strengths as a forceful female presence.

What particularly marks this film out as a classic is the quality of its camera work and lighting.  Not content with conventional photographic techniques, Carné developed some new methods for creating just the effect he was after.  These include the haunting dance scene, where the film is slowed to give the impression of time coming to a halt, allowing the two Devil’s emissaries to commence their evil machinations.   Later on, a similar trick allows Carné to transport his fated lovers to a dreamlike garden.  The arrival of the Devil in the second half of the film is no less impressive, using a combination of noise and lighting to conjure up an instant sense of high drama and anticipation.

Les Visiteurs du soir is a good example of the trend followed by many French filmmakers during the Occupation to eschew contemporary settings and subjects through fear of censorship (and even imprisonment).  Yet, as in many films made at this time, the film’s overt fantasy setting disguises a hidden purpose.  On the surface, the film appears to be a simple romantic fable set in a fairy tale castle with demons, knights and princesses.   However, there is clearly more to this than first meets the eye and many have commented on the film’s allegorical sub-text.  The reluctance of the two lovers Gilles and Anne to separate in the second half of the film, despite the best efforts of man and Devil, is surely a covert message to the French nation to hold out against the unwelcome German overlords.  Beneath a stone façade of apparent submission, the heart of resistance for the cause of liberty will continue to beat.

© James Travers 2001

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